


Devi Vestige

by Moonphos



Category: Code Vein (Video Game), RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Ask for my permission first, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Don't copy to another site, Family, Gen, No Scheduled Updates, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tragedy, UnBeta/SelfBeta
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2020-12-24 04:35:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 71,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21093497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonphos/pseuds/Moonphos
Summary: Every year, Kali Belladonna visits the grave of her older sister, Shiva, pained but not regretful of her own deed to her.Meanwhile, the Red Mist lifts a small tunnel for a small group of people to exit, including a blue-haired, cat-eared female…





	1. Vein 01 - Shiva

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Self-Beta. Using basic English, so there will likely be a lot of Grammar mistakes made.
> 
> ==Minor Edit: Chapter Notes for both Beginning and End have been fixed. It should only show up in Vein 01 properly now.  
==Edit (16/11/19): Fixed Yakumo's hair colour to Crimson. Someone pointed it out in Chapter 5 and I blame screen off-colour (totally not because of my colourblindness!)  
==Edit (13/3/2020): At End Notes, added a short detail that talks about the Meshing of this Crossover Universe.

### Vein 01 - Shiva

#### Belladonna household, Menagerie

Every year, before the official announcement of the Vytal Festival, Kali Belladonna would leave Menagerie for several days to make for a specific cemetery. She would have made her journey alone each year, but her wonderful, handsome and lovely husband, Ghira Belladonna would always convince her to have a minimal escort. This year was no different.

"I'll be coming with you."

Actually, it seemed like there would be a difference.

"Oh, are you sure Love?" The black beauty with feline ears turns from her half-done bag to her beautifully buffed husband Ghira by the door. "Stepping away as Chieftain for a day to rest is one thing, but leaving Menagerie entirely for a week or more…"

Ghira stepped into their room and pulled out a second bag. "I've done away with the major issues. The council can handle anything minor. And we haven't been just somewhere together for a while now, just the two of us…"

"Oh Love." Kali hugged her husband. He might be huge and intimidating to those who visit them, but Ghira was just her big and soft teddy bear.

"And, well…" Kali looked up at Ghira, who was looking to the side and followed his sight. She ended up at the group of photographs, framed and standing on the top of the drawer. "I'm also worried for her."

"So am I…" Kali mumbled, eyeing the little girl within the picture, all smiles and hugging the Father while Mother was kneeling beside her and holding onto her shoulders.

Which parents would not be worried about their missing daughter? Blake had dropped off the face of Remnant for nearly six months. While Kali and Ghira had not seen her in a few years, they were getting updates from Sienna Khan that she was fine and well. Then suddenly, Blake left the boy, Adam Taurus stranded with a decoupled train carriage and disappeared from White Fang. No one had seen hair nor hide of her daughter since, and she had not contacted them at all after Ghira stepped away from White Fang.

Perhaps it was better if Ghira went with her to Wind Path. The both of them could ask around, look for information and hope to see her, perhaps making her way home in a discreet manner (Kali could guess the reason why she left the organisation the way she did. Good riddance!)

The rest of the day consisted of the wife and husband packing their bags, a dinner at the restaurant, then rest. After breakfast, Kali and Ghira were on a ship, making port at the City of Mistral without any Grimm incident and just in time for dinner. Kali would then make her way to the travel agency to book a ride to Wind Path while Ghira went to look around the city, not for sightseeing but for any clue regarding Blake. He came back to the hotel empty handed and feeling down, which Kali hope against but expected it. Well, she knew what would get her man back up, if only for the night.

The next day after lunch, the two Faunus boarded a convoy of trucks and escorting rovers that were making their way around outlying villages for trades. The one Grimm incursion was easily repelled with firepower, so the convoy had not needed to pause until they reached the entrance of Wind Path. Along with a trading truck, Kali and Ghira left the convoy and entered the cliffside village.

Rather than immediately visiting the cemetery like Ghira assumed, Kali spent the next day looking around and shopping. Specifically, Kali was purchasing offerings.

_"Just a headstone?"_ Ghira had asked, decades ago, long before duty stopped him from accompanying Kali to visit the cemetery.

_"That's right, Ghira."_ She had replied. _"It happened at the sea. She fell overboard. There wasn't a body."_

With a stalk of mistletoe wrapped in paper (plucked by Kali from the nearby forest early the next morning) and a fresh eel from the market in hand, Kali and Ghira made their way to the cemetery. It was located just outside of the village proper, next to the cliff. It was generally deserted, with only a few people hired to keep the cemetery taken care of, but it seemed to Kali that this place was completely abandoned. "Well, this is worse than last year." She picked her way carefully, stepping over fallen half of the gate and broken masonry that the gate was attached to.

"Have the people here lost their respect for even the deceased?" Ghira grabbed a hold onto the rusting metal of the still standing half gate, which promptly detached itself from the pillar with a loud, metal _snap!_

Kali and Ghira stared at the other half gate in her husband's mighty hands, then she sighed. "Just leave it at the side, Love."

After they left the other newly-broken gate leaning on the fence wall, they resumed their trek on the grass-covered stone path towards Kali's destination. Everywhere she looked, creeper-vines and moss were taking over the graves and headstones. She could not believe the state the disrepair the cemetery had fallen into. "We should speak with the caretaker. This is unacceptable." Ghira only agreed.

A minute later, at the third row of headstones from the cliff edge, Kali stopped in front of one of them. The headstone was an ordinary slab of stone cut with rounded top. The face was indented, leaving just a few centimetres at the edge that served to look like a frame. Two more deeper indents, a smaller rectangle at the top and a bigger square at the bottom, had letters carved in them. '**Shiva**' was written in the rectangle. '**Loving Sister//Strong and Proud**' was written in the square in two neat rows. All over the stone and flat surface that served as an offering table in front of the stone, similar vines had wrapped around it. Ghira, without needing a prompt, started tearing and pulling them away.

"Hello Shiva." Kali began. "It's been another year. I've come to visit. I see that the caretaker hasn't done his job around here very well…"

Kali paused, waiting as her husband continued to rid Shiva's place of unwanted vegetation. Then, with a strong breath of blow and another few pats, the offering surface was cleaned as well as he could have done without any tools. Kali laid the mistletoe down, retrieved a paper plate from her bag and placed Shiva's favourite fish, eel, on it.

"Do you remember Ghira? This big, muscular, handsome man with me?" Kali squealed lightly. She could see the red in her man's face when she looked up, standing a little straighter as he clapped his palms to dust away any remaining dirt. "He finally found the time to visit again! Such a wonderful gentleman!" She giggled, a small jest. Then she fell silent.

Ghira kneeled beside her, placing a large hand on her shoulder. A comforting gesture. Kali appreciated it.

"Blake…" Kali started. She felt a small squeeze from Ghira. "Your little naughty niece. She finally left the Fang I told you about. She left that boy Adam in a conundrum when she did that too!" Kali added a bit of hand swings and shakes as she spoke, before she settled again. "But now she's been out of contact for a long time. Neither of us can find anything about her whereabouts…" Ghira gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Please, look after h—"

_"WHY ARE YOUUUUuuuu…"_

Kali stiffened, her eyes widening with shock. Even Ghira noticed something odd, if him lifting his hand away from her shoulder said anything.

"Kali…?"

"I'm alright." She exhales. Bringing her emotions back in line. "I just…" She was not sure how to explain it. "Sometimes I just recall something we said to each oth—"

_"…uld you!? You'rrr…"_

"—words I regret. Things I wish I could do more." Kali ended.

"Kali." Ghira pulled her to his chest.

"I wonder, what would she think of us now?"

_A pained cry, filled with love. "…Kaaa…"_

"Kali! I'm hearing it too!" Ghira's shaking pulled Kali out of her thoughts. She looked up to him, confusion written all over her face. "You're not imagining it! There are voices!"

"What?"

_"WHY ARE YOUUUUuuuu…"_

The repeated words finally snapped Kali back to reality. It sounded like a bad case of a broken record, though how anyone else could have known the words? Kali stood up together with her frowning husband. "Ghira?"

"It's coming from around here." Ghira scanned the area around. They started to step away from Shiva's headstone, trying to find the source of the recording. But until it—

_"…uld you!? You'rrr…"_

Kali turned around, just in time to see Ghira turning to look at her as well. And Shiva's headstone between them. The source of the recording is from her empty grave?

Was someone trying to threaten her? Why would they use her dead sister of twenty-two years ago to do it? What was there to gain from that old argument? One that led to Kali doing the unthinkable. It did not even affect any other person. Just two sisters' quarrel gone terribly wrong…

"What is this?"

Ghira's voice brought Kali out of her contemplatives. He was kneeling be Shiva's headstone, looking at the back of the stone at the dirt. Part of the soil had been disturbed when he pulled the vines away from the headstone. Kali bent down at the headstone as Ghira removed the rest of the loosened dirt.

An eerie red glow emitted from under the dirt, the source nothing like either of them had expected.

Kali said first. "Is that Burn Dust?"

"It doesn't seem like it."

The red crystal, larger in size than her hand, pulsed with a sickening looking distortion. It was an uncut gem, sharp edged and dull in make, but it looked deformed in the middle, with finger-sized spikes jutting outwards. The red glow was being emitted from it, softly and slowly pulsing once every few seconds.

_A pained cry, filled with love. "…Kaaa…"_

That had definitely came from the Dust crystal…Is that even one?

Kali looked worriedly to Ghira, who looked back to her with uncertainty, then they turned back to the crystal. With trepidation, her husband reached for the crystal…

#### Outside of the Gaol of the Red Mist, Unknown Location

"Io!"

The party turned around at a woman's call. They first saw the blue-twintail Heroine with a pair of cat-like ears that protected the entirety of the Gaol, with her back turned to them. The woman wore a long, white scarf-like Ivy-type Blood Veil wrapped around her neck, affixed to pauldrons, and ran down her back. A leather strap, reinforced with chain, followed her spine from under the pauldrons, joined the strap of her sports bra into a t-junction, then went further down until it disappeared under her ripped jean shorts, held up by a studded leather belt. A puncture scar could be seen on the left side of her back, accompanied with another scar at her front when seen, with both being either the exit or entry point of something sharp that penetrated her body in her lost past. She raised her opera-gloved hand as she stepped back towards Red Mist Tunnel they came from, displacing cracked pavement under her blue heeled boots as her long legs that were protected by sky-blue stockings moved.

Then they looked passed her and saw the Saviour that bore the namesake she spoke, impossibly standing there at the small tunnel created by the Amber Blood Bead, still in her tattered and ripped dress with a black hooded, twin-tailed Ivy-type Blood Veil.

Rin Murasame, the red-ponytail-haired armourer who looked sixteen, took a step forward. "Io? Is that really you…?" When the woman nodded, the masked girl dropped the massive bag nearly four times her own body size to the floor, ran forward and gave the woman a flying hug. "Oh! Io! How are you here? We missed you so much!" The red-themed girl stepped back, unbothered by how much her exposed skin to the dangerous Red Mist because of her tiny jacket-style Hound-type Blood Veil over her black bra, a simple jean shorts and combat boots.

"Io!" Mia Karnstein, the fourth young woman—a long-haired blonde with a black-coloured bearskin hat, wearing a black shin-length Scorpion-type Blood Veil coat, blue thigh-length dress with matching stockings and brown heeled boots—followed Rin and ran to their friend, holding a customised bayonet she named ‘Brodiaea’ to the side as she did.

"Io!? But…how?" Louis Amamiya, his black hair unkempt and holding a crimson sword, raised his gloved left hand to his chin, his single-side Ogre-type Blood Veil slipping off his arm and hanging by his shoulder as disbelief filled his words. The man, dressed in a white dress suit, sleeveless red-and-black suit and black leather jeans, eyed the Red Mist that protected the Gaol from the Horrors, worried written all over his face. If Io was here, then who or what was powering and keeping the Mist up? What of the Horrors?

Yakumo Shinonome, a crimson-haired man with a scar running down from between the eyes to the right of his face, let loose a laugh that knocked Louis out of his thoughts. His high-collared jacket-style Hound-type Blood Veil, layered with armour platings, shuffled as he stepped to the gathering, exposing his V-neck tee-shirt and straps for a handgun holster. Utilities pouches hung from his belt and one on each thigh, strapped on his camo pants that was tucked into his combat boots. “Now the gang’s all here! It’ll be like the good time!” He raised his heavy sword, Oni-bane, to rest on his shoulder.

Except, Io gave them a soft, solemn smile and shook her head.

“Io?” Rin confusedly let go of the woman

Io gazed at each of them, spending several seconds before going to the next. Finally, when she reached the cat-eared Protector, she raised her hands towards her. The Cat Lady obliged and moved to her. “My Successor…” Io began as she took the ex-Successor’s hands, which still carried the Amber Blood Bead. She wrapped her hands around her ex-Successor's, which in turn covered the Bead. “...when it is time, don’t hesitate.”

The Cat Lady nodded.

"Io," Rin sounded so disappointed, "are you really not coming with us?"

Io removed a hand from her ex-Successor's and placed it upon her chest. "This is merely a projection, a vestige formed by the Amber, to see my Successor one more time." She looked back through the tunnel, back into Gaol. "The true 'Io'…I will be remaining here, to keep everyone safe from the Horrors."

"A projection, I see…" Louis let out a sigh of relief. It would seem that Io had things planned out. He stepped forward into the circle of friends. "Io, I never had the chance to say this, but…" He put up a hand, palm opened towards her. "Thank you." Gratitude filled his heart and mind. "For everything."

Io smiled and took his hand.

"You really can't come with us?" Yakumo was really dejected. Io let go of Louis' hand and approached his best friend and raised a hand to him, like Louis did to her. Yakumo smiled and took it. "We'll come back with lots of stories for you."

"And I'll bring back lots of stuff!" Rin threw her a hand up, excitement rolling off in waves, but Louis could see the sadness in her eyes.

Mia fidgets side to side, then gave Io a hug of her own. "And I'll keep them safe. And their heads straight on."

"Hey, we always have our heads straight, Mia!"

"Except for the times when you have sharper eyes than I did for treasures, Yakumo."

Everyone laughed as the two bickered jokingly. Io returned her focus to her ex-Successor, lifting her hands that held the Amber Blood Bead. "I will always be here, my Successor. I will never leave your side."

"Io…" She hugged the White Lady one last time. When she let go, she stepped back and out of the tunnel. 

Rin hesitantly followed, not wanting to leave Io.

They stood still, the party that was going to explore the lands outside of the Gaol, watching as Io backed further into the tunnel. They watched, with Rin, Mia and Yakumo lightly gasping, as the Red Mist Tunnel slowly 'collapsed', the deadly mist closing the tunnel. They watched as Io, or the projection of their friend Io, was swallowed up by the Red Mist.

There was no longer a tunnel. They are truly outside of the Gaol now, away from the safety they known for most of their Revenant life.

Louis was the first to turn his back to the Red Mist. "Let's go." His simple words prompted the party into movement, with Rin picking up her backpack while everyone else slowly began to walk away, four pairs of footwears crunching on the broken roads. Louis looked back.

"Shiva?"

The Cat Lady, ex-Successor of the Relic of the Blood, Protector of the Gaol. Their greatest friend, Shiva nodded toward the Red Mist to say goodbye to her own Saviour. 

And she fell in steps with them. Heading into the unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiva, rather than using the Hindu God (as with Kali), is the version from Final Fantasy, as in the Feminine **Ice** Summon. Though I doubt it passes for the Colour Rule.
> 
> As for her looks, she is basically a recreation of Meracle Chamlotte from Star Ocean: The Last Hope. This link goes to Steam Community for Code Vein.  
[Shiva](https://steamcommunity.com/app/678960/discussions/0/1628538707061043128/?ctp=43#c2733047810445624602)  
I couldn’t customise this detail in. Imagine her with a cracked diamond-shape scar on her left side of her stomach, closer to the kidney, with an exit wound slightly higher on her back.
> 
> While I thought to write a Code Vein Fanfic, I didn't have a concrete idea, beyond an AU version of it. Then I messed around with the Character Customisation for NG+3 and made Merry. Then I looked at the ears. Then I thought about RWBY's Faunus. And this Crossover Idea hits me. Already have plans for the Ending, just need to plan and pave the words to get there.
> 
> \----------
> 
> A short detail regarding the Meshing of this Crossover Universes. Someone pointed out as a quick question and I feel that it's a very valid question that I need to update the notes in this beginning chapter. So I shall edit part of the response here.
> 
> About RWBYverse: The history of RWBY is largely left untouched. I also won't go too deep into it (if at all, which is the main reason why it's untouched). Instead, it's the vague backstory of Code Vein that is meshed into it. Within the century and through fantasy science (as little 'It's Magic!' as I can).
> 
> However, there will be changes made to the canon RWBY (Volume 1-3). You will only really start seeing these changes when you reach the Vale-Chapters, after the Revenant Team reached civilisation. Sub-plots will start getting addressed from then on, supplements to the main plot as well as talking about Gaol's setting within RWBYverse.


	2. Vein 02 - Radio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ==New Tags added to the story summary: Sienna Khan (RWBY), UnBeta/SelfBeta, No Scheduled Updates, Other Additional Tags to be Added.  
\----------------  
Thank you everyone, for those who read, left a Kudos and even Bookmarked!
> 
> I've started using Superscripts for some explanation stuff. Nothing important unless you want to read what I was thinking when I wrote certain parts.
> 
> ==Edit 09/Nov/19: Added several more details.  
1) (Minor) Fixed Fire Lily's shape description.  
2) (Story-related) Protagonist showing her regenerated wound to Louis. Has some new stuff he saw.  
3) (Story-related)Flashback scene of Louis/Shiva/Aurora.

### Vein 02 — Radio

#### Unnamed apartment block, Ruined city outside the Goal, Unknown

"This is Louis. Jack, can you hear me? Over."

_"—ack, han…— *static*"_

Louis leaned as far out of the window as he dares. He aimed the radio's antenna towards the Gaol and clicked the radio. "Come in, Jack. Can you hear me? Over."

Static filled the small room that the party had settled in for the night. Unlike the bright nights in the Gaol amplified by the Red Mist, the ruined city they were travelling through was blanketed in absolute darkness. It was impossible to see more than ten metres ahead on the streets, much less fighting any Horrors that might appear.

It was Shiva that decided to pause and wait for sunlight, when they are starting to have trouble watching where their feet were planting. With no streetlights and the Thorns of Judgement casting unwanted shadows all over the city, Shiva halted the march and everyone started to search for a Mistle.

They could not find one, however. And when the street level had been completely covered in darkness, Mia pointed out a room with one small window. They quickly found an entrance and entered what used to be an apartment block before finding the room with a single door. The inner walls had mostly collapsed, making the room seem larger than it really was. Some debris had been used to cover up the doorway, just in case something decided to sneak up on them. Once they decided on a lookout rotation—Louis, Shiva, Yakumo then Mia for two hours each; Rin was left out of it as she was going to inspect and perform basic maintenance on their equipment—they settled down in darkness.

_"*Static* —is Jack… …s best I can… …he situation outside? Ove…"_

Louis pressed the transmitter. "Jack, we have not yet encountered any Horror out here. We're currently resting and waiting for daybreak: Without the Mist's glow, it is near impossible to traverse the ground at night time while looking out for Horror. Over."

Louis looked into the room as he waited for Jack's reply. Rin had improvised three of their Blood Bead supply as a makeshift lamp, however minimal it was, and was currently giving Oni-Bane a look-over. Yakumo was eating his onigiri while watching Rin worked on his blade. They were talking about things they were doing during after everything was over, but now they were quiet, likely to let Louis have a silent environment to report to those that remained inside the Gaol.

Mia was the only one sleeping, lying next to Shiva whose face was lightened by the Amber Blood Bead in her hands. Louis always felt gratitude when someone as distrustful of people as Mia let go of her insecurities in their company, trusting them and relaxing around then. 

Most of all, she had gravitated to Shiva, who seemed to have reciprocate the feeling. Shiva spent much effort looking out for the woman, the youngest among the group of them (even though Mia and Rin were about the same age physically, Mia could still be considered the youngest as a Revenant). Shiva seemed to know what Mia need in times of distress, especially during the fiasco when her little brother, Nicola was the Successor.

As Revenants, they had borderline unlimited energy to spend. They did not truly needed to sleep or rest (or even eat, in Yakumo's case). But old Human habits die hard and doing little things like these reminded them of their humanity and keep their sanity.

_"—uis. what ab… ...umans? Any sig… people out there? Over."_

"Jack. We have not seen any signs of human or any form of resistance yet." Shiva looked up from the Amber to Louis as he held onto the transmit. "There isn't any signs of other Revenants or Lost from before the Gaol as well. Over."

Shiva kept the Amber away and made her way to Louis. She grabbed the plaster wall of the window and leaned out, trying to see through the darkness like Louis had. He doubted that she could see anything much as well. _"Louis. Silva is… …to head towards the coa…"_

Shiva turned to Louis, just as surprised as he was. "Wait, why does he want us to go to the coast now?" The words drew the attention of Rin, Yakumo and Mia as well. The original plan was for them to look for a spot for a forward operating base. The future plan to head for the coast and another continent was for the long run, after they managed to establish a shelter outside of the Gaol.

The voice changed. _"Amam… …is Silva. The plan was for taking ba… … …om the Horrors while we make contact…Mantle. Since those monsters… … ..ound, take this chance and find them. Over."_

Mantle. It was a Kingdom that was located on the colder continent in the North. Dominic, the old man who survived in the Government Sector back during Silva's frenzy, remembered some of his time before the Great Collapse. Humans had lived behind great walls, not too unlike in the Red Mist's function to protect the humans and keep out the Horrors. Only, the walls were manned and the Horrors were held back by supreme firepower. And Mantle was the name he recalled. He did not remember much of anything else, which he attributed to the crisis and old age as the culprit for his lost memories.

If they were really going to change the plan this way, they would be losing contact with everyone inside Gaol. The radio had only a certain range and they were already near the furthest edge of it. Until the time when they bring back help. Louis would no longer be able to talk to Aurora and Karen. He had only gotten the both of them back…Louis glanced to his companions.

Rin nodded when their eyes met, then went right back into maintenance mode with the next weapon on the list: Shiva's Queenslayer Sword. It would seem that her place was with them. Unable to find her squad from back during her combatant days, she began to work doubly hard for the group of them at Home Base, a constant presence that they relied on during their moments of weaknesses.

Emily took the deal with Silva and became a member of Cerberus, remaining inside of the Gaol to help their fellow Revenants. The last remaining person that Yakumo had immediate ties with. When Louis crossed eyes with his friend, Yakumo just smiled and nodded. He then turned to Rin's makeshift Bead Lamps and pulled out his photograph to look at it.

Mia left Nicola back at the Gaol. It was simply too dangerous for the little one to follow them and face the Horrors. But Mia left him in the care of Aurora, Karen and Jack, the former two wanting to teach him science and knowledge while Nicola said the latter was training him to 'be a Knight.' They were the people she believed in to look after her sibling. Mia, too, nodded at Louis when his eyes reached her, before she went to sit with Yakumo.

Finally, Louis looked up to Shiva. She returned his look, contemplated for a couple of seconds and simply nodded.

Louis pressed the radio. "Silva. Understood. We'll start heading towards the coast when the day breaks. Over."

_"We will be preparing, Amamiya. Good luck. Silva out."_

"Sounds like everyone is depending on us." Yakumo commented as Louis kept away Eva's radio that Jack passed to him for this mission. The heavy swordsman punched his palm, psyching himself up. "I'm getting a good feeling about this."

"We won't let them down." Mia patted Brodiaea that sat on her knees. "We'll find them, deal with the Horrors and take back our world!"

"And we'll be back in time to relax at the hot springs!” Rin added. “Shiva." She flipped the Queenslayer Sword around, then handed it hilt first to Shiva—

—who suddenly rose up, eyes wide, cat-like ears twitching, then threw her right hand out. A flaming throwing knife—Fire Lily—sliced through the darkness with a red tracer beam, flying into the unoccupied areas of the apartment they had chosen to rest. The glowing knife suddenly halted in its flight with an upward jerk, two red lines held it at the blade's edge— 

—Louis just registered Shiva's Gift, who had already taken the offered Sword from Rin with her left hand and Gift-dashed halfway across the room, bluish embers cascading around her. Louis reached for the Enduring Crimson that was resting on the wall beside him and took a hold of it; Mia just began to turn, following the tracer and pulling Brodiaea up as Yakumo reached for Oni-Bane. The Fire Lily lighted up the **thing** that caught it in its fiery red glow: Something black, round and with ropes dangling—

—Shiva swung. The **orb** ducked. The sound of the blade slashed through the air. Louis leapt forward; Mia threw herself flat to the ground with her bayonet raised as Yakumo began to leap over her with his sword; Rin finally just realised something went horribly wrong and was pushing herself up; Red **ropes** ran along Shiva's left arm—

_Snap! Crack! Snap!_

—while her right palm smack the **orb**, sending it flying with the Fire Lily, violently parting with the **tentacles** wrapped around Shiva's left arm. Yakumo pivoted to Shiva; Louis stopped to cover Rin; Mia pulled the trigger.

_Crack! Boom!_

The building shook with the shot-triggered Fire Lily explosion. The wall that separated the apartment and the outside corridor collapsed. The whole floor then suddenly gave way, sending the party down a level.

Several seconds passed as concrete and dust settled. Echoing noise faded and vision restored—as much as Louis could see in the darkness. He grunted as he pushed away what he recognised as Rin's backpack and pushed himself up. "Is everyone okay?" He spotted Rin immediately, slowly pushing herself up, and reach down to help her up.

Mia sounded off. "I'm fine!" Her voice came from nearby and below Louis, but he heard no movement. "I'm not seeing anything." She must have stayed prone, even after the drop, to watch out for any other enemies.

"We're here." Yakumo called out. "Shiva, your hand—"

"I'm fine." Shiva promptly replied. "Rin?"

Louis could hear her muttering, rattled from the close encounter. "She's with me."

"I—I'm okay." She shakingly said, then looked around frantically. "The Beads! Where are they?!"

Shattered and drained. It did not take long for Louis and Rin to find the broken pieces of the white capsules crushed under the fallen debris, their life essences pooling on top of an already soaked rug. Rin took the biggest piece up with unsteady hands and the remaining fluid within the cup dripped from the openings, onto her hands and into the puddle.

Three Blood Beads. It was not a dip from their supply of Blood Beads, the remainder of them kept safe inside their cushioned safety within Rin's backpack. But for the woman, it was as if she had been completely crushed. Louis placed a hand on her shoulder. "Rin, it's fine. It's just Beads…"

"It's…not…" She dropped the shell of the bead, which clattered away on the concrete floor. The noise echoed in the room "I'm…supposed to be better than this. Not just…quivering. I went out with the others to search for them. I even managed to fight the Lost. I…didn't even realise what was…What…am I doing?" Frustration rang with her words, bloodied hands pressed against her face and shaking.

"Rin…" Louis had kneeled beside her during her breakdown, keeping his hand on her shoulder for support. He did not let go until Mia came over to pull her into a hug. Louis stood back up when Yakumo and Shiva approached them. He turned to Shiva. "How's your arm?"

Shiva spared a moment to watch Rin and Mia, before lifting her injured arm and pulled down her long glove for Louis to see. Few parts of her arm around her elbow were bruised. But her arm was straight, as if it were never broken in the first place.

He never realised that there were scars and bite marks on her arm until now, hidden under the long gloves.

"Regenerated." Shiva simply said, then she pulled her glove back. She hummed. "It disintegrated." She continued after a moment, then she went down to join the cuddle pile.

Louis put a hand to his chin. "Disintegrated?" He repeated. 

"I watched it happened too." Yakumo added, lending credentials to what had occurred. "The tentacles that Shiva ripped off from that floating ball just melted from her arm, then disintegrated. Do you think that's a Horror?"

The Biological Organ Regenerative Parasite (or BOR Parasite) would have caused a Lost to dissipate upon fatal damages. After some time, these parasite ashes would gather and regenerate, reforming the same Lost once more. In a sense, a Lost was immortal, even if their bodies would degenerate into unrecognisable mess of ball. They met a lot of such parasite balls in the Hollowing Pit and the Depths. They met even more Revenant Losts, whom would never be killed permanently because of the BOR parasite. This dissipation protocol would cause the ashes to light up like embers as they dissipated. "The ashes didn't light up?" Louis just had to ask.

"They didn't." Yakumo confirmed once more.

Then it could only be a Horror. Louis sighed. They had marched out of the Gaol expecting giant-sized monsters that completely overwhelmed Humans and Revenants that were trapped outside, only to get ambushed by something that was smaller than Hound Losts. An oversight that could have caused a problem if Humans had been with them. Louis would have to report this to Silva or Jack.

And he tried to, every hour for six hours until the sun began to rise. Unfortunately, Jack's radio failed to receive any of his call. There had been nothing but static, until even the static went out into silence with the last two tries. Louis kept away the radio, stood up from the window rubble he appropriated as a lookout seat and stretched.

Mia was looking out of the upper floor window, steadfast and vigilant. Since the surprise attack, she had been tense of the darkness and had taken the higher ground that used to be their room. It was a vantage point where she could see the collapsed room entirely, letting her watch out for any other unpleasantries. Which none had occurred.

Rin had gotten better since the breakdown. It had been a surprise to find water—albeit stagnant—sealed in an old, dusty bottle within the new apartment, which Shiva had taken and used to clean Rin’s face of blood. Currently, she was looking at a couple of copper pipes, placed on top of an anvil she brought along in her backpack for maintenance purposes. Louis wondered what she was thinking.

Due to the explosion, there was a big opening into the outside corridor.Yakumo had taken a seat that was positioned to face towards the staircase and the opening that used to be for an elevator. He stood and stretched like Louis, twisting his body and cracking his spine. He held Oni-Bane, but had its tip resting on the floor.

Shiva was still holding onto one of the broken Blood Beads, nursing the last of the liquid remaining inside the base. They had no need for a discussion and Louis had pressed the still-filled Bead to her as she had to both use her Gift and her Regeneration during the attack. She had not accepted it until Mia took at least a sip for the same former reasoning with Brodiaea. After that, Shiva chose to sit at the opposite of Yakumo but on the upper floor. None of them doubted that Shiva had chosen that spot after she tried to look for any signs of the Horror that was in the apartment, of which nothing of it was left behind.

_“Now, what is this about your Blood Type?”_ Louis had asked her a long time ago, some time after the Weeping Tree was formed. Shiva had nearly Frenzied that day, rushed in to Karen's care while he was visiting her.

Aurora, who had been with Louis and Shiva when they had that particular talk, answered. _“The Blood Codes that Shiva had taken when she was a Void-Type seemed to have been blended together and absorbed. I’m surprised that no one questioned if that particular phenomenon was caused by the specific Relic inside you.” 1_

Louis sighed._ “There was only so much I can do without equipment and foreknown knowledge like you, Aurora.”_

_“Is that why I can still use so many different Gifts?”_

_“It’s the only explanation I can agree with you at this time, Shiva. We’re going to need more time for a proper study and examination.”_ Aurora then sternly looked at both Louis and Shiva. _“And for your sake, do_ not_, under _any _circumstances, touch anymore Vestiges."_ Aurora harshly tapped her finger to Shiva’s forehead. _"Remember that you are no longer a Successor. Vestiges are going to cause Frenzy, Blood Beads or not. If either of you come across one,_ leave _it!”_

“Louis.”

Rin’s voice brought him back into focus. Louis looked up to the Armourer, who was holding an elongated pipe…It was the two pipes, joined together into a long pole. “What’s wrong, Rin?”

At first, Rin said nothing. Louis patiently waited for her to continue while the rest were readying themselves. Mia dropped down and stood beside him, watching Rin as well, if a little bit more worried. “Rin…” She muttered.

Then suddenly, Rin kicked her anvil. The loud clattering of the cast iron falling to its side surprised all of them. And then Rin knocked it once more, turning the thing over on its top.

Mia almost stepped in before Louis held her back. Shiva jumped down from the second floor and stopped beside Yakumo, who had halted on the other side of the backpack.

Rin then flipped the pipe-pole and held it above her, pointing it to the bottom side of the anvil and jammed it down, spearing the anvil. She twisted the pole, twice for effect. Finally, she raised the entire thing, resting it on her shoulder.

A make-shift Hammer, closer to a Pickaxe because of the two pointed ends, using two copper pipes and an anvil2. Trust an Armourer as creative as Rin to come out with something like that with limited materials on hands.

“I’m going to do better.” Rin said, confident and sure. She turned around to Louis, eyes sharp and focused. “I won’t cower anymore3, not like this.” She looked down to her free hand, her left, which she clenched. “I was ‘Yaksha’ once. I can still fight. I’m going to fight. I’m not going to become a burden. Not like…last time. Promise.”

“Rin…” Louis stepped forward. Rin looked up. He patted the woman on her shoulder with the Anvil Hammer. “...I’m looking forward to it, partner.”

Rin nodded. “Yeah!”

“Rin, don’t scare us like that.” The concern in Mia’s words were clear. She had been so worried.

Rin turned to Mia. “I worried you. Sorry about that.”

“Well, honestly speaking,” Yakumo had his sword on his shoulder, “you’re never a burden, Rin. You’re our friend. Never doubt that.”

“Yeah!” Rin nodded at Yakumo, then turned to Shiva. The Cat Lady smiled, a hand behind her, and nodded. No words were required to convey her feelings. “Thanks, Shiva.” Rin replied.

“Alright!” Yakumo hollered. “So, Louis, what’s our itinerary?”

Louis looked to them, gazing at his friends, the people he had so much regard for. Precious people he would never do without. They had been through the thick and thin. He could not have asked for better people to stand beside.

He breathed. He held up Eva’s radio for emphasis. “You‘ve all heard it last night: Silva is changing our original plan from checking our surroundings to making immediate contact with the known possible settlement: Mantle.” He lowered the radio. “We don’t really know where exactly are we in relation to Mantle, or even the rest of the world. Our current objective now is to head to the coast, along the way searching for any signs of life, while watching out for Horrors that are lurking around.”

Louis paused, giving them a chance to ask anything. None did.

He shook the radio. “Following our current objective, we are going to be out of contact with everyone inside the Gaol. In fact, we might already be with certain parts of the Gaol: Jack isn’t answering the radio, which might mean his current position is already out of range from us, including interference from the Mist. Once we continue onward from this point, we will not be able to contact them until we return here.”

Everyone had the focused looks in their eyes. They were prepared mentally, ready to leave behind the people they cared about for an unknown period of time, until they came back bearing news.

Louis kept away the radio. “Let’s go. We’ll keep going South by Southeast, keeping the mountains to our right.”

Yakumo, closest to the exit, went first. He was followed by Mia, who paused just long enough for Rin to pull up her backpack. Shiva shifted to let Rin pass and, once Rin stepped outside, turned to Louis. “If there’s no one…”

It was a valid question. A concerning one, so much that Louis knew everyone thought about it and chose not to ask it. He could not afford to think that. “...Then we come back and prepare.” But they had to be prepared for such a possibility.

That was likely why Silva wanted them to take the chance, without the Horrors dogging them, to quickly look for people. And why he was going to keep everyone in the Gaol prepared.

Shiva frowned and nodded, saying nothing. She pulled up her hiding hand, still holding the broken Bead with the liquid in it that she was nursing and drank the rest of it. Then she tossed the emptied Bead behind her.

It clattered loudly, striking across the floor, then shattered into multiple pieces.

But nobody heard it.

For the two others had left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 Just wanted a reason for me to not have to go ‘Shiva change Claw Code! Shiva use Fire Lily! Shiva change Queenslayer Code!’ Also, I thought that it could be a neat reason why us players do not get the Queen Blood Code until we reloaded the Continue. However, for this fic, the Protagonist have all 32 Codes available in-game (despite the fact that we needed to restart the game to get them, even though it’s not supposed to be possible from a non-TimeTravel fic standpoint)
> 
> 2 It’ll be Rin’s signature weapon for this fic, like Enduring Crimson, Oni-Bane and Brodiaea. It'll have changes after they hit civilisation, on the account of having access to more resources (Materials, Dust, Technology.)
> 
> 3 Source of her words came from Memories: Warrior’s Vestige I. I decided to explore her resolve with this fic.
> 
> Gift (Spells list, Game Description)  
**Fire Lily**: Shoots out a swift blade. A short time after sticking into osmething, it detonates. (Looks like a spike than a blade)  
**Gift-Dash** (Quick Dodge): Not a Gift, per-say. This is just what it looks like when you have Quick Mobility and you dodge.


	3. Vein 03 - Bloodroots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags added: 'Ask for my permission first', 'Cross-Posted on Fanfiction.Net', 'NaNoWriMo'
> 
> I was waiting for CV category to appear on FFNet before I post there. Now that it is, it'll be crossposted there, but it'll be 2 chapters behind.  
\------------------------  
Thank you, everyone, for the reading this, the Kudos and even the Bookmarks!!
> 
> This ain't meant to have a regular/scheduled posting/update, but as of right now, it's basically a day earlier vs other chapters. And the reason, as you see from the new Tag, is that this is going to be an attempt in completing the 50k words for NaNoWriMo 2019. This will be my 5th attempt, while all 4 previous ones had totally failed (ran out of motivation or writer's block). Here's to hoping for the completion this year!
> 
> Minor Edit (16/11/19): Words.
> 
> **12/1/20 Edits**  
Minor  
=Changed 'Term' to 'Semester'. I mixed up RWBY's timeline for Season 2 because I kept thinking things occurred in a manner of weeks.
> 
> Major  
Some information. I forgot that the party left Gaol after **YEARS** had passed after VB's defeat. Several changes were done in their conversation by the Bloodspring.

### Vein 03 — Bloodroots

#### Gneiss1, Vacuo

An angry foot slammed onto the paved sandstone. “Why are we here?”

Brawnz, Roy and Nolan turned around, then to each other. “What’s wrong, May?” Brawnz asked, seemingly nonchalant about it.

The only girl in the team could feel her anger rising. “Why are we at the harbour?” She expanded her inquiry, throwing a hand out to gesture at the harbour office front that they were standing in.

“‘Cause we’re taking the ferry!” Their flamboyant teammate, Nolan flourished his hands toward the jetty, where one of the many ferry ships was floating at the end of the harbour. May could see ‘VSV Sediment’ written on the side of it. Her eyes twitched.

“And why are we taking the ferry?”

“Wait, didn’t Roy tell you?” Brawnz turned to the said boy, who just pushed their Team Leader forward, obvious in his way about trying to hide away from her pending fury. Brawnz cleared his throat. “...It’s cheaper.”

“‘Cheaper?!’” May growled. She would have yelled if they were at Shade. “We are given free transport to Vale! Via Bullhead!”

Brawnz sighed, then grabbed and pulled Roy before he could retreat further away. “It was _your_ idea. And _you_ said you’ll tell her.”

Roy struggled. “Aahh! Let me go! She’ll kill me!”

“Roy…” May took Nornhowl2 and tapped his forehead with the blunt side of the stock.

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry!” Roy understood the threat. “It takes longer to get there, alright!”

May smacked his head with Nornhowl. “‘Longer?!’”

“We are only required to reach Beacon before the start of the second Semester3.” Brawnz repeated what the Vytal Festival contestant seminar had explained. “So Roy wanted to take the scenic route to erm…” Even her Team Leader was afraid to continue. “…skip the combined classes.”

May shook the hanging idiot. “We’re among the lowest tier in the academy and you still want to be lazy?!”

“It’s not even that many classes!” Roy managed to talk even while being violently shaken. “At the most, it’s like three days of classes skipped!”

“And who knows how many vacation days that we could use to train!?” May smacked that idiot off Brawnz’s hand and into the ground with a fist. She sighed, stress relieved, then glared at her other two teammates. “I can’t believe the two of you agreed to his dumb suggestion!”

“I never rode on a boat before.” Brawnz explained himself. “I’m really interested in how sea ships function.”

“And we can really appreciate the beauty of nature when we ride the ferry.” Nolan added as he threw an arm over May’s shoulder, with his other hand wide opened, fingers splayed and slowly waved outwards in emphasis, which he then changed into a trigger finger. “And also take pot shots at Ocean Grimms too!”

“Please don’t jinx it.” May knocked Nolan’s hand off her shoulder. “I don’t want to meet a super sea Grimm while on a boat.”

Roy suddenly jumped to his feet. “Come on! It’ll be fun! None of us ride a boat before.”

May frowned. “Don’t talk to me.” He got the idea and slid behind Brawnz once again to hide from her rage. She sighed. “They better be equipped with hot shower.” She glared at her male teammates. “Or I’m going to throw all three of you into the ocean.”

They would later learn just how jinxed they were, when May’s words turned prophetic.

#### Outside of Gaol, Unknown.

##### One day earlier.

The world they knew were getting smaller as they travelled.

Mia looked from left to right one last time, scanning the horizon from atop a crane at the very top of a building. It was a picturesque view, one where she could take a photograph and send it back home as a postcard. A beautiful lush green field, not filled with giant craters or building-sized Thorns of Judgements.

But therein laid the problem.

_Where are the Thorns?_ Mia pulled up Brodiaea and looked between the iron sight. It did not increase her view range, but it helped to focus her sight. She still saw only tall grass and a lack of hidden pointy tips. _Did the 'Great Collapse' happen only in this city?_

As far as Mia could recall, this city were both her birthplace and death site. Her parents, if she had any—neither Nicola nor herself remembered them, even with their Vestiges and memories restored—they had never left the city before. Both the siblings had only known the nameless city in their entire life.

_I never really thought about it. The Gaol really is all I ever know and remember…My home…_

It was…saddening to realise about it. Her entire life story started and ended completely in the same place, never leaving a mark for others to pursue. Even her Revenant life had always been about the fight to survive until the next fight, scavenging or stealing the next Blood Bead for Nicola and herself, all in an effort to not be reduced into a mindless Lost.

_Camilla…Would you be proud of us? We saved them. No one has to suffer the injustice anymore…_ Mia lowered Brodiaea and looked up into the clear blue sky, where the puffy white stuff in various shapes and forms were floating. _What was it that Dominic said? 'Afterlife?' 'Life after death?' Where souls of the deceased go after their body had perished, rather than 'Revenanification…'_

_…Do we still have a 'Soul?'_

"Mia."

The Sharpshooter turned downwards. Shiva was below her.

"Sorry, I was looking at something."

Slinging Brodiaea behind her, Mia grabbed the vertical shaft and slipped down, controlling the speed of her descend with a combination of her grip and leg strength. She slowed as she reached the roof and stepped beside Shiva.

"Alright?" She asked.

Mia nodded. "I'm fine."

Shiva smiled, then turned to lead the way to the exterior metal staircase. Her kitty-ears twitched around as if they were hearing things, her body relaxed as she strolled to the exit. Despite her posture, Mia knew Shiva was ready for combat in a split moment. She learned that she was highly sensitive to danger, regardless if she saw it coming or not. Often, she could turn around a corner with her weapon in the middle of a swing and connected it on an ambushing Lost, or bait one out into the open. Sometimes, Mia wondered if her calling out enemies she sighted in their vicinity was even helpful or useful.

The descent down the staircase ended abruptly, where it was sheared off by a Thorn that speared the building from the side. Using the jagged edges of the Thorn like a ladder, the two of them started climbing down it at an awkward seventy degree angle. Once they were close to the ground, the two of them leaped off the Thorn and approached the rest of their friends nearby.

They were in the middle of an empty space when Mia and Shiva separated from the group for reconnaissance and lookout. Yakumo had pointed out what this place was, based on the markings on the ground. _“This used to be a basketball court.”_ He said. The name and nature of the sport escaped Mia, but it had not been truly important for her.

What was important about this particular place, which warranted the temporary stop, was located in the centre of the court: A matured Bloodspring, lying on its side on the broken floor withered, chopped off from its roots and with its Beads long since harvested. Louis was still examining it, but he was now scrutinising at the cleaved roots that were bloodied with Shiva’s blood. 

_“Curiosity.”_ She had exclaimed after she bit her wrist and dripped her blood on it.

And as expected, nothing occurred to the fallen Bloodspring or the damaged roots, since she was no longer the Successor of the Relic of the Blood.

Yakumo was the first to greet the returning scouts. “Yo! I see you’ve taken up cloud gazing.”

“...’Cloud?’” Mia questioned. Shiva tapped a fist to his bicep and kept walking towards Louis.

Yakumo pointed up towards the sky. “Those white cotton candies up there."

"Oh." Mia smiled and looked up again. "It's quite a sight without the Mist blocking the sky." 4

Yakumo grinned and joined the cloud gazing too. "Yeah, they are. It's been a long time since I saw the clear sky like this. I think I can take up cloud gazing once things have settled down."

"You? Cloud gazing? No way!" Rin joined them. Yakumo choked at that accusation. She had left her backpack by the fallen Bloodspring. "If there's anything else you'd take up, it'll be bartending."

Mia giggled. "Rin's right. I never once seen you going to the balcony back home."

"The lounge chairs are just **that** comfortable!" Yakumo's attempt to defend himself was just funny. Not as adorable as Nicola when her little brother tried to be fierce and angry when she poke fun at him. "Besides, I could build an outdoor bar! Then I can do both at the same time!"

"I don't think you know what an 'Outdoor Bar' entails." Rin sassed cheekily and deflated Yakumo. Mia held her lips with a hand to keep from laughing out loud while looking away.

She crossed eyes with Louis, who was watching them with a smile. And Shiva…

_Huh? Wha—_

"What's Shiva doing?" Yakumo voiced out Mia's question.

Standing in the midst and near the edge of the sheared roots, her 'Ivory Grace' Blood Veil ichor absorption mask activated over her mouth, Shiva was sending Ivy tendrils into the ground. While one of the blade-scarf remained sunk within the roots, she took a step in the direction of—Mia looked to the side: Shiva was not going anywhere they knew. Forming her other scarf into an arrowhead, she promptly penetrated the roots again. Then the previous Ivy was pulled out of the root, with Shiva taking another step and onto the concrete, and she stabbed into the ground between the cracks.

Yakumo led them to the Bloodspring. "Louis, what's wrong?"

He laid a hand on its mummifying trunk. "A Revenant cut down this Bloodspring."

That had surprised them. "Wait, are you sure it wasn't done by Humans?" Yakumo continued. "Why would any Revenant cut off their source of Blood Beads?"

"I don't know, but it was done in by a single slice." Louis lifted two trunks, one withered and dried, the other scorched at its base. "A heavy weapon with a powerful Gift converter built in it." Louis dropped the trunks and tapped his chin. "It's been dead for years."

"Years?" Yakumo scratched his head, thinking.

Mia had a flashback. "The Gaol!" She gasped. Everyone turned to her. "Mido caused it to dissipate."

Louis nodded. "And we were shown the existence of the Horrors. Why the Gaol was created in the first place."

"That sounds more like a coincidence than anything else." Rin added. "It's been years since you guys had solved our issues."

"You're not wrong to say that." Louis continued, looking at Mia. "The Gaol dissipated for just a short moment. But it was long enough for the Cerberus unit to leave the vicinity."

"You mean someone else has escaped the Gaol and attacked the Bloodspring?"

Louis nodded to Yakumo's doubt. "That's right."

That still did not explain why someone would destroy their own source of food. "Could it possibly be that it was killed by a Horror?" Mia put out another suggestion.

"If there are Horrors that could learn to use weapons and gifts, perhaps." Louis had to think about it. "So far we've only seen two Horrors: The Giant that attacked the Cerberus unit; And the one that sneaked up on us two days ago.

If it was the Giant Horror, it could easily have the strength to rip the Bloodspring from the roots.

As for the Jellyfish Horror…it has the physical strength to break bones. It also demonstrated that it could wrap its tentacles around objects. But unless it can learn to channel Gifts without a BOR parasite, it and others like it should not be able to leave scorched marks like these."

"We know too little things about the Horrors." Rin summarised. "If it really was killed by a Revenant, do you think we can catch up to them?"

"This happened years ago. They would have to be long gone by now, dead or Lost." Yakumo tilted his chin to Shiva. Mia noted that she was pausing for longer durations now. "So what exactly is Shiva doing?

"Do you remember the medicine we used when we were searching for the Source?" Louis asked. Yakumo nodded. 

Mia just barely recalled it. She had seen Louis used it twice, the first time was when she was stalking them within the Hollowing Pit, where she had also witnessed for the first time, Shiva had somehow reactivated the dried Bloodspring. The second time had been when she joined them in the search for the Source. She nodded as well.

"We have a theory that there might be other Bloodsprings connected to this one." Louis went into his 'Thinking Pose.' "The three Bloodsprings we found in the Caverns Depth, the Hollowing Pits and the Dried Trenches? All three of them were offshoots that had branched off from the one that was in the Old City Ruins." Louis then looked to Shiva. "She wanted to check, specifically for damages done to other Bloodsprings, but I don't have the medicine to lead us anymore. So she's doing using her Veil to track the roots.” 5

"I'm not against it, but should we be doing this right now?" Yakumo turned to the direction they were travelling towards, before they stopped when they saw the dead Bloodspring. "Silva wants us to look for the living as quickly as possible. Can we afford to make a detour like this?"

Louis shook his head. "I think we can confirm that there are other Bloodsprings outside of the Gaol." Shiva was moving westwards, going further away from the Gaol as she prospected for the roots. "But you're right: We should keep going. Shiva!" 

Shiva seemed to not have heard Louis.

"Shiva, we should get—"

Her eyes widened. She pulled her sword up in defense as she turned towards them. "Get going! Mov—"

The ground around Shiva blew up.

————  
Shiva made a mistake.

Ever since she found the vestige that led her to relive Operation Queenslayer, Shiva found that she had a quirk.

She enjoyed fighting.

It had been somewhat of an oddity that she could sense danger and seeked them out. That her foes, no matter where they tried to hide or ambush her, or even overpower her like the Greater Losts did, she would always dive headfirst into it and without hesitation.

It had been her love for fighting that had caused her to regenerate at Mistles more than several times, when the Greater Losts she fought without adequate understanding and preparations sent her packing via BOR parasite dissipation protocol. Exploration of the Depths had became an issue when she continued to fail to curb her habit, even when she had to time to improve herself now that the Gaol was safe.

And it was her love for fighting that she made the mistake.

She had been genuine when she suggested to check the Bloodroots and see if they led to anywhere curious. She first tested her Blood Veil on the exposed Bloodroots, forming a single arrowhead and tapping it. The Bloodroots throbbed with life, one that reminded her so fondly of the woman that changed them.

_Io._ The Bloodroots glowered through her Blood Veil. 

…She could stay like this forever.

_They need you._

Shiva stumbled, but she caught herself. Louis had not noticed.

So she moved on, tapping the roots with prickles of her Ivy Blood Veil.

Using her Blood Veil on the Bloodroots had the additional effect of replenishing her ichor stock, which drained a little bit of it every time she formed the arrowhead, dug through the soil and poked the bark. It helped to balance out her use of the Blood Veil in such an unorthodox manner when she had to extend them down into the soil, deeper and deeper as she tracked the Bloodroots. 

And when she reach the broken grounds of the basketball court, something changed.

It was extremely slight. But she felt a vibration.

Her sense of danger pinged.

It was difficult to track the Bloodroots as they dug upwards from deep beneath the surface. The further away she stepped from the exposed Bloodroots, the longer she had to stay in position to extend and retract her Blood Veil. The Great Collapse had loosened the soil enough that she could continue to penetrate the earth with just an arrowhead tip, but it was the distance from the surface—almost twenty metres deep now—that made the process take a longer time.

_What are you?_ She felt the weird reverberation in the root. Shiva took another step forward and sent her arrowhead down.

"Shiva!"

She tapped the Bloodroot.

The reverberation suddenly increased.

The arrowhead pierced the Bloodroot.

She could not pull it out.

"Shiva, we—"

The Bloodroot shook.

_Not—___

_ __ _

Her body tensed. 

"—should—"

_—enough—_

The Bloodroot broke. Her Blood Veil began to shoot up.

_—time!_

She pulled her sword up in a guard position. 

And grinned.

"—get—"

_Something_ drilled passed her retracting Blood Veil.

She turned to them. "Get going! Mov—"

A gigantic **something** burst out of the ground and slammed into her sword. It lifted her off the court, ripping the rest of her Blood Veil out of the ground. It was black, covered with a white carapace red-lined in pattern. And a pair of pupil-less red eyes that stared at its prey.

—————  
When Shiva tensed up, so did everyone, 

Except Rin.

It was no fault of her own. She had been an Armourer for so many years that she needed more time to retrain her reaction speed back to instinctual level.

So when Shiva pulled her sword up and yelled, Rin was the only one still casually holding onto her anvil hammer. When the ground Shiva was standing on exploded, her eyes widened and her brain sent signals to her arms to move. When the sudden roaring of animalistic noise drowned the still-erupting mount of dirt and drew everyone else's attention, Rin was the one to immediately see and recognise what had came up.

It was a snake.

It was a massive, gigantic black snake.

And it was carrying Shiva away.

_No!_ Rin's body moved forward, both hands gripping tight on her newly reinforced anvil-headed hammer she named Vulcanalia. She charged forward.

"Rin?!"

"Wait—"

Mia and Louis yelled.

Rin saw it.

A second mound was forming, right next to the body of the Black Snake Horror. Rin slammed Vulcanalia's handle into the ground, halting just fast enough— 

The mound erupted. The head of a White Snake Horror came out of the ground. It rose and slithered after the Black Snake Horror.

Rin jumped for it, a hand reaching to the White Snake Horror and dug into its scale, before she even thought about it.

————  
"Rin!" Mia watched as two of her friends were taken away by the two Snake4 Horror. Her eyes widened when the Black Snake's body abruptly turned white. Just like the White Snake's…! The remaining body of the Horrors suddenly popped out of the ground, which caused Mia to realise its nature.

It was a single Horror, a Snake with two heads at each end rather than a tail.

Yakumo pulled Mia back. "They got it!" He yelled. "We got to deal with these too."

Mia finally tore her sight away from the disappearing Greater Horror and back around her. Even more Horrors were surrounding them, larger than Humans and Revenants in size, but not to the scale of the giant Snake. Instead, they were surrounded by Dogs.

Dogs that were black in colour, some wearing white carapace-like armour and are bipedal.

On the balcony of one of the many high-rise buildings, Mia could spot a larger Dog-Horror nearly all covered in white armour. Its body swelled, then it threw its back and howled into the sky. Deep, loud and long.

_Awwooooo…_

The rest of the Dog-Horrors around them charged on their Leader's signal.

"Mia, try and snipe that thing." Louis stepped in front of her, Enduring Crimson brandished. "Yakumo, cover her."

"Understood." The two of them replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fight scenes next chapter! Yay! Something exciting! Although it's gonna be extremely RWBY-esque than CV, as in believeable-normal.
> 
> To be honest, I didn't actually wanted to write a Protagonist POV. It felt like it's a major spoiler. But I couldn't brainstorm a way to get over it. Maybe I'm just bad at planning the pacing...
> 
> 1 Gneiss Settlement does not exist in RWBYverse. This is a random name used for the harbour scene. It is not important, so you don’t have to remember the name. It shall be replaced if/when there is an actual Vacuo harbour/port in the show.
> 
> 2 Nornhowl = ‘Norn’fang (Linda’s sniper rifle from Halo, or Norn from Norse Mythology) and Gore’howl’ (Grommash and Garrosh’s legendary axe). May’s Sniper Rifle is one with an axe on the stock.
> 
> 3 RWBY Season 2.
> 
> 4 Mia’s spotty lack of basic education (Not knowing what ‘Cloud’ is but knows what ‘Snake’ is: I wanted to play around with Revenants’ loss of memories with their deaths. In the game, we were told that they lose their memories overtime when they kept dissipating and regenerating. Some of these consolidates into Vestiges, which we gain access to. But these vestiges that we restored mainly dealt with the backstories of the game. So, just like Rin’s resolve, I want to play around with messing around with people’s memories before their Revenant period. (cont)
> 
> 4 (cont) In regards to this, I haven’t decided on how I want to play with Louis and Yakumo (this fic is already about the Protagonist). Yakumo’s Altas Vestiges had been about him when he was alive and Louis’ had been before the Queen’s appearance and then about a kid. Gonna have to brainstorm.
> 
> 5 Ivy-type Blood Veil’s Drain(hold) has a unique function: If you hold down Drain button, you can move around the ‘Eruption Zone’ when you use the movement keys (Controller Left Stick or WASD). I personally don’t use it though, I never found a good place to ever use it. But it is there, it can be funny for a moment and I’m certainly am going to milk it in this Fic.


	4. Vein 04 - Horror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tag Added: Dominic (Code Vein)
> 
> Thank you everyone for reading this, leaving a Kudos and even Bookmarked!  
\--------  
8 days of WriMo and I'm only at 11k words. Slow writer I am, might not reach it /sad.
> 
> Edit (16/11/19): Added 'Evening' time descriptor to Louis's words (after they met up)  
Edit (19/11/19): Changed some conversations to have them make more sense and in-character.

### Vein 04 - Horror

#### Grass field outside the Gaol, Unknown

There was no time to think, only actions to carry out.

Having fought the Butterfly of Delirium—a flying Greater Lost that had a large serpent tail—more than several times, Shiva learned intimately how few methods a creature without limbs could attack, not including the feminine Lost from which the serpent tail was attached to. She just had to apply her knowledge to a similar-looking Horror that was maybe twenty times its size and strength.

There were only so few things Shiva could do when the Snake Horror erupted from within the earth and rammed her, carrying her on its snout into the air. She had no foothold to kick herself away and the wind pressure was pressing her flat against the Horror and slim steel that was her sword. But her body had already reacted with her tools available, long before she reached that point.

The moment she had felt the right side of her still-active Blood Veil torn through the ground, Shiva turned the arrowhead form into a jagged blade and directed it into the Horror. She knew she had precious little time to do it.

The first thrust flicked off its side. The Horror had scales so dull and black that she did not notice that it existed until now.

The second thrust hooked between the scales but deflected off. She had not aimed right and, against the wind pressure, had not enough strength to pierce through.

Instead of retracting it anymore, she poured ichor into the Blood Veil to lengthen it. With the wind pressure now acting with it, the third thrust of the Ivy Veil went between a pair of scales and stabbed into the flesh.

It caught on.

Shiva was suddenly airborne, relieved of the pressure from her front.

The Red Eyes of the Horror shrunk…It was pulling back. Shiva was able to see the Snake's head in full for a moment.

It opened its maw. A pair of trunk-thick fangs was the first thing she focused on, then the row of sharp pearly whites.

Her Veil was still extending.

She locked and pulled the Veil with all her might, to get out of the range of the impending doom.

The Horror returned to chase the airborne woman, closing in faster than she could pull herself out of the way. Neither Shift nor Vanish with Hollowing would make the distance. She could not use either because of her Veil. She needed another option.

She clenched her left hand. Blood bubbled on her palm, then a familiar knife-shape formed from the ichor. She let loose the Fire Lily and immediately clenched her fist again.

The wind pressure on her back disappeared, along with the light of the sun. The Horror overtook her. She was now within the Snake's maw.

The Fire Lily detonated.

The blast wave and heat washed over her, forcing her to the right faster. The flash of light blinded her, causing her to close her eyes. Then she heard an animalistic roar of pain and felt her Blood Veil's blade snap.

The wind returned. She opened her eyes. The Snake Horror was knocked off its course, swerving to its right and away from her.

Pain from her burned left hand finally caught up. She clenched her teeth and growled in pain. She began to pull her arm, body and Blood Veil in. Her form rotated.

A pair of blood red eyes appeared in her peripheral vision. She turned her head.

A White head of a Snake dominated her sight, its maw opened wide.

—————  
Rin was terrified. 

She had no idea what she was doing.

She was dangling off the side of the White Snake Horror's head, left hand dug between near-invisible scales the size of her head, right hand holding tightly onto Vulcanalia as she sailed through the air, parallel to the ground. Unnatural cold ran throughout her body as she desperately held onto the Horror, hoping that her four fingers—her thumb was pushing on the surface—would not slip off its layering scales.

She had to get up. She had to get a footing before she gets thrown off.

Despite her fears, her Blood Veil answered her as if it had a mind of its own, slipping off her hands and forming a pair of Hound heads over her shoulders. Their jaws opened wide. The Right of the Hound Blood Veil flew forward and up, sinking its razor-sharp fangs into the Horror.

It deflected and slipped away. The scale was too smooth for it to simply held on.

The Left Hound shot up next, using its lower jaw to hook and pull up a scale, then chomped on it. It almost slipped off when the fangs failed to hold, but the front teeth bent the surface of the scale inwards and caught on.

Rin pulled herself up with the aid of her Veil, using the pulled-up scale as a handhold. She kept her head down, eyes just forward of her feet, her free hand and the twin hound Veil gripping on whichever scales that could be held on. In addition to the unstable ride, she had to battle against the wind stream. She struggled to push forward, one step at a time, one hound grip to another, trying to reach the skull of the Horror.

She still had no idea what she was doing, or even why she did. Normally, it was someone else—Louis, Yakumo or even Shiva—that did crazy stuff like this. 

Not her.

Not someone who could not even deal with a few Lost, without trying to run away first.

_“I can’t cower anymore!”_ The words suddenly rang in her mind, flashing back to when she was talking to Shiva and Io after they shared her old team member’s vestige with her. Then to a room, filled with shadows and a single opened—destroyed window. _“I can still fight. I’m going to fight!”_ She looked forward.

Light flashed in the front. From within the maw of the Black Snake Head that attacked Shiva.

The same maw that her friend had just shot out from, with the left side of her body smoking. The Black Snake Head twisted away from Shiva and herself, away from the White Head.

Shiva's eyes widened. She was facing Rin.

The White Horror's head tilted up. Rin felt the wind pressure dropped, along with her body temperature.

Her ride was going to eat Shiva!

_‘No!’_ Her mind screamed. Her Blood Veil Hounds let go and Rin leapt forward, both her hands now gripping on Vulcanalia at the end.

The next step placed her on the base of the Horror's skull. Much of it was covered in a red carapace of some sort.

She swung Vulcanalia without hesitation!

The pointed end of her hammer struck the red carapace. It failed to hold against the Armourer's Revenant strength, splitting from the point of impact and shattered! A fountain of black ichor burst forth, coating the anvil hammer in the lift essence of its first victim.

Her ride buckled and dropped. Rin found herself airborne as the White Snake took a violent dive into the ground.

Shiva saw her. She was about to fly into her. Over her. She twisted her body, holding her left hand out to Rin.

Shiva almost flew past her. Rin threw her own hand up in desperation.

They connected. Their palms and fingers immediately gripped onto each other's forearm.

Rin's arm felt like it had torn off its socket from the whiplash. Shiva pull the Armourer towards herself and held her tightly as they tumbled through the air. "Hang on!" Rin almost missed Shiva's yell over the noise of the wind.

They hit the dirt. Something cracked. Rin let go of Vulcanalia involuntary as they tumbled. Warm liquid splashed on her back. Shiva let her go and she rolled to her back.

Dizzy. World spinning in front of her eyes. Where was she again? She gulped, trying to get her breath back. What was she doing? Far away from them, the White Snake Horror roared. Rin barely heard the sound of concrete collapsing. When the world finally made sense once again, Rin started to push herself up. "Uuugh…" Something in her shifted, forcing a yell out. She raised to her knees and glanced around for Shiva.

The feline-like woman was on her knees as well, her sword laid bloodied and cast aside. Held in her dominant hand was a singed blue-gloved arm, cut off just above the elbow. And from her left bicep, which Rin just realised with horror—that her own sword had cleaved her arm off—blood flowed freely and soaked up hungrily by the grass field.

"Rin," said Armourer returned her gaze to Shiva, who was looking over her shoulder to herself, "can you still regenerate?"

"I—I can! You arm! We need to—aaah!" RIn screamed when pain erupted from within her body, forcing her to stop attempting to stand and instead collapse to the ground.

"Rin,” the Armourer tilted her head up, “regenerate." Shiva simply commanded. Her friend then placed her detached limb to her bicep, wound to wound. Her eyes closed. "I'm fine." Then opened wide. She pushed them together.

Rin watched as Shiva's blood poured from her bicep and bubbled, drenching her limb and her right hand in red. She grunted, teeth clattered, as if she were holding back from making any noise. Rin saw, in between the burst of bubbles, the stream of blood coagulated in the space between the disjointed limb. Fresh red blood darkened into dull black. Her severed hand's fingers twitched, then clenched into a fist.

Shiva panted as sweat trickled down her face past her headband. She breathed hard, then evened out. "Rin?" She looked back to her again.

She never screamed, Rin recalled. Not when that Horror in the apartment snapped her left arm. Not when more than two-thirds of the same hand was cut off. _‘Did she ever do that?’_ Rin wondered.

Shiva was one of the strongest people she ever met.

"It's surrounding us." Shiva's comment brought Rin back to the current situation. Rin looked around briefly and saw that the Horror had slithered a big round around them, cutting them off from any possible escape route with its long body. Shiva was looking forward as her hand fiddled with a pouch in the back of her waist. The swordswoman then took out her purifier mask—a model that had her blood filled inside pillbox-like caps and symmetrically built into the rebreather by its side. Rin had not seen it since the Io's transformation. "It's going to attack soon."

Rin turned her sight to the front. The twin-headed Snake Horror were watching them, two pairs of eyes seemingly scrutinising them, the Black from a raised position while the White from the ground. _‘It’s not dead yet?’_ Rin glared at the White Head, then viewed the two-in-one Horror as a whole. _‘Is it weary of us?’_ Rin assumed. The Black licked the air, forked tongue whipping through the air.

The tongue snapped Rin out of her funk. _‘It's not the time to think about it…’_ she finally pushed her own metabolism, activating her Regeneration to heal her internal wound. Her entire body heated up and her heart raced. She felt her bones moving, pushed back into position by her BOR parasite. She felt and heard cracking, echoes dulled by her innards.

She heard a click. When she looked up, Shiva had put her mask on and locked it in place to her mask frame. When Shiva removed her hand from the mask, her demeanor changed. Gone was her friend that looked out for her when she broke down or just bringing back tools and resources for equipment maintenance, replaced by the Veteran Warrior and Protector of the Gaol.

The Warrior took Queenslayer and stood facing the gigantic Horror, her long Veil and twin-tailed hair bellowing with the wind. Confidence and conviction radiated from her. The scar on her left side of her stomach seemingly throbbed, glowing red with fresh blood. Her healed hand raised up, fist clenched. Ichor bubbled from her encased fist.1

“It’s coming.”

As if it heard Shiva’s words, the two heads charged in together as one. Rin’s heart raced.

Shiva turned back to her, her ichor-charged hand held out to her. Her eyes softened. “Trust me.”

Rin did. She clasped onto her forearm. And she did her.

Something _clicked_. And Rin felt _it_.

Red hot ichor ran down her hand, energising her with an unknown,but familiar confidence. Her heart continued to beat faster and harder as the ichor ran into it, then spread throughout her body. Gone was the frigid cold that gripped onto her the moment she had grabbed onto the Snake. Now a force she had never felt before coursed through her, empowering her with great strength. She felt as if she could do anything. That she _can_ do everything!

When she recovered from the euphoria, her shocked eyes looked into Shiva’s understanding green cat-eyes. The cat-eyes narrowed with a frown, then Shiva nodded. “Let’s kill our first Greater Horror.”

Rin hardened herself. She grinned under her mask. “Let’s.” She agreed, reached for Vulcanalia, then rose.

And gripped harder onto Shiva's arm, which gripped back.

_‘Was this how it feels? To completely trust in someone else?’_ Rin knew what Shiva planned to do. She knew that only she could help her achieve it.

With a rising growl, Rin dug a feet into the soil and spurred into a spin, pulling Shiva along who let her. Who wanted her to do it. She spun once, then twice, the Warrior floating almost parallel off the ground. Aiming at a specific part of the Black Body of the Horror, Rin threw Shiva at the target.

The Black Head veered off instantly, heading straight for the airborne Warrior.

The White Head charged straight to Rin unerringly. If it could look any angrier; If it could think and bear grudges, the monster was certainly coming in for a revenge.

“Come on!” Rin growled, teeth clenched, grasping onto Vulcanalia behind her with both hands, one leg forward and one leg behind. The most stable stance to swing, forgoing every bit of defense and fear. Her heart was beating at its highest degree, feeling every bit as excited as eyeing a new weapon or Blood Veil the team would bring back. They were going to bag their first ever Greater Horror! They were going to survive this and go back to everyone else! Rin was going to change everything about herself and grow!

The White Snake challenged her conviction. It opened its jaws.

“Come on!” She screamed.

She swung!

And the world exploded.

——————  
Shiva cut through the air at near-terminal velocity, flying straight parallel to the ground beside her.

It felt as if she leapt down a building and free falling through the air.

She glanced ‘down.’ ‘Below’ her, the Black Head had been attracted to her. For revenge or for an easy snack, it did not matter to Shiva. She wanted it to chase her. And it did.

She looked ‘up.’

With her body still straightened, she was tearing through the air and heading straight for the Black Body that had surrounded both herself and Rin. The Armourer’s increased strength and perception from the Communal Gift had far surpassed her expectations, throwing her like a harpoon with the accuracy of a Sniper.

Shiva might try and get Rin to break the sound barrier one of these days.

Shiva bent forward and pulled up her legs. The slight change to her stance was enough to alter her flight plan, spinning her around so that her feet faced the Body. She pushed most of her ichor down to her legs, hoping to cushion her landing just enough to not completely destroy her lower body. Her thighs and calves swelled with ichor, ballooned up to a point where her knees could only bend up to an eighty degree angle. 

What she had planned hinged on her not breaking her legs when she ‘landed.’

That was also assuming that she did not tear through the Horror as well.

Well, as long as it died, Shiva would take any outcome.

A sonic boom tore through the air and refocused her, followed by the ground next to her cracking up like an intricate web of a spider. Debris bounced up and pelted her. Wind force that flew faster than herself bombarded her, but it only increased her speed.

Then she hit the Body.

The scales shattered. The Body buckled, bending into a V-shape. Her hands shot out and slammed onto the Body to stablise her stance and stop herself from getting crushed between the bending body. The Body skidded back several metres, nearly twice the diameter of the itself.

‘Above’ her, the Head jerked back with a whiplash, anchored from the point of her landing. The anguished roar from it overtook the dissipating boom of Rin's overpowered attack, hopefully from both the Body damage and the possible death of the White Head that went after Rin.

She had no doubt that Rin succeeded. She had confidence in her.

And it was the moment to kill the Greater Horror.

Angling herself with a raised knee, she expelled the rest of the strength she had within herself after the Communal Gift, combined with the ichor charged in her legs. The kickback inflicted to the Body from her take-off knocked the Horror just a slight further back and dragging the Head towards her, but far from being enough for Shiva to reach the agony-blinded Snake.

It seemed like she would have to dash to the eyes as quickly as possible, before the Horror could recover. 

————  
The White Head laid dead, hopefully: Nobody knew it a Horror like this could get back to life from having its head caved in with its eyes popped out. Black ichor gushed or leaked from every visible orifice or from the hole she made, tide stemmed by Vulcanalia still buried in it.

Rin panted, trying to catch her breath, when the roar of the Black Head reached her. A quick turn of her head let her know what was occuring, when she saw Shiva rocketing into the air.

_‘She won't reach the head!’_

Her eyes dropped to the Body. The Black and the White were still connected.

An idea came to her. Her body was already tensing as her mind rearranged the idea into a coherent thought.

She had to time it right as well!

When she saw Shiva began to descend from the apex of her jump, she pulled Vulcanalia as hard as she could, dragging the White Corpse with it.

——————  
Shiva watched the result with fascination.

As Rin pulled the White-side Horror, the entire Snake was dragged along the path it occupied. Rin's Gift gave Shiva sharper reflexes and dexterity while taking away her strength and perception, but to pull at a Horror thrice as large as than even the Queen-like Monstrosity was beyond insane.

But Rin did.

Shiva grinned under her mask. She was not going to argue with the result. She just switched her grip on her Queenslayer Sword to point it downwards, support the incoming impact reverberation through the sword with her other hand held on the end of the handle, and got ready to finally kill the Horror.

Rin's enhanced perception was just as unbelievable as her strength when Shiva landed exactly on the eyeball of the Black Horror and stabbing the sword through the eye. The eye burst, splattering her with a fountain gush of the black ichor.

The Horror roared, rearing its head and thrashed about, almost throwing its unwanted guest off itself. But Shiva would not let go and, from her seated position, drop kicked a leg into the busted eye and gripped herself onto the skull of the Horror.

Pulling out and stabbing with her sword, Shiva repeated the action as she attempted to pierce its brain. A monster this massive must have a brain the size of herself, yet her attempts proved the opposite when the thrashing got even harder and it nearly crushed her into the ground, which she dodged by diving half her body into the eye socket.

It was getting desperate now, ramming its snout into the soil repeatedly and digging up dirt. Shiva was not going to let it escape back underground to recover or plan for an ambush out of sight. So she raised the Ivory Grace, willed her Blood Veil and formed a dozen spears and blades, then sent them through the eye socket and into the creature.

She drained.

——————

#### Ruined City outside of the Gaol, Unknown

_ Four minutes earlier _

Seventeen. Yakumo counted seventeen of them fanned out in front of him. With Louis on his side and the chain link fence blocking way on the other, Yakumo could take them coming from one direction.

The first of the black furred Dog Horrors pounced towards Yakumo the moment it got in range but, rather than paws out in an attempt to jump its prey to pin and chew its victim, the Horror raise its claw high above its head, ready to tear him into ribbons.

Just as well that these things fought like humanoid opponents rather than beasts. Those BOR parasite-infected animals had been some of the most irritating Losts he had ever fought.

Oni-Bane raised like a guard, Yakumo blocked and deflected the first Horror's attack. The claw raked uselessly on his signature weapon, after which he brought it just a slight higher and slashed down. The upper torso parted without much resistance and the Horror collapsed in a heap, immediately began to disintegrate.

_'What the…These Horrors die easily.'_

But for their lack of strength and durability, they made it up in numbers. The Horrors swarmed Yakumo, who put up his guard quickly and kept the second and third Puppies from ripping him. He had to sidestep away the fourth, while instinct from years of fighting the Lost by his lonesome self—before meeting Louis—told him that the fifth was already coming in from his blindside.

He could not back away for room, however. It meant letting Mia be exposed to harm while she tried to shoot the Horror Pack Leader.

He lashed out with a kick to his blindside and was rewarded with a _yelp_. He risked getting clawed by the fourth, earning a torn shirt in the process, and threw Horror numbers two and three into it. With a minor space made, he pooled ichor into Oni-Bane and spun twice, tearing through the Dogs and forcing the rest to a halt with an explosion of blood. He leapt back into a guarding position, facing the Horrors that were scrutinising them with his weapon up, then looked quickly to his side.

Beside him, Louis was weaving between the claws and jaws of the Dogs like a professional dancer, sending single slashes with Enduring Crimson that took out a limb or a head whenever opportunity arisen. If a Dog tried to dash pass him, he would send a Gift of several fire orbs to it, blasting it back while setting it on fire to burn to ashes.

Mia had fired two shots of ichor rounds at the Pack Leader to no avail. It had not risen to its Leader rank by being a dumb Dog, like the ones charing en masse to them. When Mia fired, the Leader rose its plated arms to deflect the shot. When Mia poured more ichor into her next shot, it took cover behind the wall of the balcony.

At this rate, they would have to start going after the Leader themselves.

The pack began to move once more, rushing head on in a frenzy to attack their prey. Yakumo took a step forward to meet the first Dog of the second batch with a telegraphed overhead swing, one which the beast had not attempted to dodge. After cutting it in half, Oni-Bane was twist up and right, slashing diagonally onto the next Dog. He dodged backwards, escaping from getting pounced on by the third Dog, then slashed through its mask and divided its skull horizontally. 

Continuing with the momentum, he spun and swung into an uppercut, catching the next one that had the intelligence to block with its forearm platings. The Dog was thrown into the air by force. Yakumo's Blood Veil formed into twin Hound heads over his shoulder, covering his mouth with an absorption mask, and struck forward, jaws opened wide to chomp down on the helpless Dog. As the twin Hounds tore it in half, black ichor poured down their throat and into Yakumo's reserves.

His innards twisted from the foreign substance. He convulsed, dropping to the ground as fire burned inside him. The stuff that went down his throat was coming back out with a vengeance! His hand reached up to pull at his Veil absorber because his Hounds were not dispersing fast enough. He expelled everything from within his stomach, blood, bile, bits of the onigiri he ate earlier and every drop of the black ichor he drained.

The black ichor started vaporising the moment it left his mouth.

He vaguely heard someone yelling his name. He felt more than he heard the bullets flying over his head, then a strong grip—Miguel? Riki?—dragging his powerless body across the broken pavement under the covering fire of Emily?

_"—kumo, hang on…"_

_"I'll cover… … he's fren—"_

_"—grab the bead—"_

The words sounded slur, as if he was hearing them while underwater. He thought he saw a blob-face man with unkempt black hair—Riki?—pulled up an unwieldy large sword and went out of vision. A bayonet entered his sight, red smoke popping from its business end, held by Emily? In a long sleeved black coat over a blue dress. _‘When did she have long blond hair? What happened to her super lucky beret? What is with that ugly mask?’_ A metallic whirl could be heard. Something slime, long and reflecting light. Emily? Looked down to check on him, her features blurry and unfocused.

_"Yakumo, snap out of it!"_ She placed something onto his lips. Warm liquid poured down his throat.

He blinked. Twice. The face came into focus. It was not Emily

"Yakumo!" A young girl yelled to his face. She clutched a teardrop-shaped white marble in her hand. "Come on, wake up!"

"M—Mia!" He was able to match the face to name. _‘Louis! Rin! Coco! Davis! Io! Shiva!’_ "Ugh!" Yakumo leaned forward, trying to get himself to his legs. But he fell forward onto his knees. He had never felt this weak before.

Multiple growls pulled his attention. Several unfriendly growls that seemed to promise pain. He cursed his weakness. Mia's Scorpion Blood Vein unwinded and was about to shot forward.

_‘The Horrors!’_ He shot his hand up, just in time to grab a hold on Mia's Blood Veil, preventing it from stabbing into the incoming Horror.

"Yakumo?" Mia yelled in disbelief.

Yakumo roared and brought his Hounds. Instead of biting the Horrors, he sent the Hounds to headbutt and batter away the Horrors. "Louis!" He yelled as loud as he could. 

The Swordsman, still standing next to Rin's backpack and deflecting attacks. His Ogre Blood Veil was out, holding a Horror by the throat with his claw as a shield. He did not visibly react to Yakumo, in the account of having to deal with so many of the Horrors. 

"Don't drain their blood! There's something wrong with it!"

"What?!"

"Got it!"

While Louis finally crushed the Horror's throat, Yakumo let go of Mia's Veil. Where was Oni-Bane? He continued to batter away the Horrors with a combination of the Hounds and his fists, relying on his street fighting skills to push them back. 

Even Mia had changed to using Brodiaea's bayonet in conjunction with Scorpion swipes. "What about the Pack Leader?"

_Without ichor to drain, we lost our range option!_

Louis somehow made it back to them, backpack in one black-blood hand. "They're backing off."

Which explained how Louis could get back to them all of a sudden. Yakumo still had both his fists and Hounds raised, while Mia was standing at the other side of Louis. But the Horrors had stopped charging at them.

_‘Were they testing us?’_ Yakumo realised. The Horrors were either pacing side to side or standing on their hind legs and watching them. He looked up to the balcony and saw the Pack Leader was on its four limbs, growling at them.

"Yakumo…" He turned to Mia, who was retracting her Veil. Coiled around the base of the stinger was Oni-Bane.

He grabbed his sword. "Thanks."

The growling Leader suddenly leapt, causing a ready reaction by the Revenants. But it pounced on its own pack, crushing an unfortunate Horror under its weight. It bodily turned to its left and huffed, then did the same to its right.

It sounded like a morale speech, because they were ready for round two.

The Pack Leader got on its four.

The Revenants readied their weapons.

Echoes of an explosion hit them, followed the vibration of an earth shock.

Yakumo caught himself before he turned away from the Horrors. "What was that?!"

"Shiva and Rin?" Louis guessed.

"Look!" Mia was on the ground, kneeling on one knee, Brodiaea pointed forward despite the fact that she could not fire it.

The Dog Horrors that surrounded them were stepping back, including the Pack Leader. They seemed to be frightened by whatever—Shiva and Rin?—that had caused the quake. The lesser Horrors turned tail and ran, leaving the Pack Leader to growl and glare at the three of them.

A moment later it, too, retreated.

For a while, the three of them continued to remain alert, just in case it was a trap to get them to lower their guard. But after a minute of silence, Louis was the first to lower Enduring Crimson. "... they're gone."

His words were like a switch. Mia retracted her Veil and let herself drop to a seat, while Yakumo rested Oni-Bane on his shoulder, Hounds withdrawn. "Good thing these things called it a day." He was having a bit of trouble breathing, still feeling the effects of the near-frenzy. "I don't know how much longer I could hold out."

"I'm sorry." What was Mia apologising for? "If I had killed that Pack Leader, we wouldn't have been…Yakumo wouldn't have nearly frenzied."

"Hey! None of that." Mia turned to him. "Nobody knew that there was something off with their blood. I was the one who decided to do that."

"We just weren't prepared." Louis picked up. "But thanks to Yakumo, we now know the one thing we can’t do. We’ll be better prepared for this. We have to ration how we use our Ichor reserves and Gifts, as well as the tactics to take on them. We have to learn quickly how these Horrors function and counter them."

“This is becoming tougher by the day.” Yakumo scratched the back of his neck. “We should rendezvous with Shiva and Rin before—” 

“Oh no!” Mia suddenly gasped. She shot up and took a few steps in the direction where the Greater Horror had took their two other friends. “They don’t know about the ichor issue! If either of them had to drain the Snake in order to battle it…” Yakumo sucked in an air of shock as well.

“We better hurry.” Louis took Rin’s backpack. “Without Blood Beads, they are going to end up in a frenzy state if they had to do it.”

“I’ll take the bag. I don’t think I’m in shape to fight.” Yakumo admitted. It was easy to do so with Louis, so much more than Riki. Louis offered him the backpack without argument and he took it..

As quickly as they could, with Louis leading ahead, the party of three ran through the path of destruction that the Greater Horror had created from its movement, going in a straight line and hoping that they would reach their friends in time. Yakumo started to realise something was off. “The Thorns are getting smaller and sparser.”

“I noticed that earlier when I was on top of the crane.” Mia replied. “There’s no scars from the Great Collapse and the Thorns are missing as well. We’ll be exiting the Ruined City and entering the grass field soon if they kept going.”

“No scars and no Thorns?” Louis looked back to Mia, who nodded in the affirmative.

After a few minutes of running, having not encountered another Horror along the way, they could see the beginning of greenery instead of the ruined man-made city, just like Mia had said. She pointed towards the horizon. “I’m seeing evaporation smoke.” Mia called out. Yakumo squinted, but he failed to see it.

“We must be close.” Louis said.

Soon, they reached a rough patch of path where the destruction split with a dent in the soil, which visibly led to the disintegrating body of the Greater Horror. It laid across their path, seemingly cutting the trio off from their friends and painted a bad picture, where it had surrounded Shiva and Rin using its own body and preventing any possible chance to escape. The body seemed to have started evaporating from the middle, for the White Body had nearly vanished while the Black body was less than half vaporised. There was a path between the disintegrating bodies of the Greater Horror led right to the half-disappeared skull of the Black Snake.

And in front of the Black Snake Head, Rin held Shiva’s head and body in her arms, cradling the woman whose eyes were shut. And Rin was smiling.

Yakumo’s eyes widened in shock. _‘Rin never took her mask off unless she was in the hot springs!’_ “Rin!”

The Armourer looked up at his call. “Oh, hey guys…” She said weakly. She looked anemic, colours drained and wobbly. “You’re here.” She fell backwards.

“Rin!” All three of them yelled.

Shiva suddenly blinked, one hand shot out to grab the bloodied hand in front of her face, the other to reach behind Rin and caught her before she hit the ground. She immediately shifted so that she could lay Rin over her legs, holding her body up and resting her head to her arm. Her lips moved, softly calling Rin as she gazed at the girl in her arm.

Mia slid down beside them. "Rin! What happened to her?"

_‘Did Rin offered her her own blood?’_ He saw Rin’s bleeding arm…Not only that, but Yakumo made out lines of black streaks on Shiva, from her kitty-ears to her facials.

“Yakumo,” Shiva turned to him, “Blood Bead.”

“Right!” He pulled off the backpack and laid it in between the party. Louis took a Bead and passed it to Shiva, who held Rin’s head up so she could drink.

But Rin stopped her, weakly pushing her bloodied arm. "Save 'e Beads. 'be alright." Her slurred words were interspersed with pants for air. "'just need to rest. Don't need to waste…"

Shiva pulled her hand up. Rin's hand simply slipped off from her. "Drink." She pressed again.

"'am not burden." Rin shook her head slightly. "Can't waste 'ore. Just need to rest. 'be fine."

Mia took Rin’s hand, holding her in reassurance. “Rin, you’re not—”

“You _are_ being a burden currently.” Shiva’s forceful words surprised Yakumo and the two others. He only ever seen her angry twice. “Right now, you are putting your own pride over sensibility. You’re unable to move or act and forcing us to stay in an indefensible position to recover. If another Greater Horror comes up, the chances of our failure becomes imminent.”

“Not fair,” Rin whimpered, “‘save you and you’re scoldin’.”

Shiva’s glare softened. “Thank you.” That was a rare smile. “We’ll all be weak at some point in time. Needing help doesn’t mean being a burden. You’re not a burden. Believe us.” Rin glanced at the team, from one to another. Yakumo gave her a grin and a nod. Shiva pressed the Bead to her once more. “Now drink.”

And the Armourer finally did, taking the Blood Bead from Shiva. “‘Kay.”

When Rin started drawing the liquid from the Bead, Yakumo squatted down beside Mia. “Man…Shiva, please don’t use full sentences on me. You’re scary when you do.” Mia and Shiva snorted before Rin choked on the Bead and coughed.

“—went down the wrong pipe.” Rin coughed again while Shiva rubbed her back. Mia just slapped him on the arm.

That did lighten the mood by a bit.

Louis stepped beside Shiva. “Shiva, did you try to drain the Greater Horror?” She nodded. “Then, I’m guessing Rin had you drain her blood to bring you back?” Another nod, then she turned to Yakumo.

“You?”

“I did.” Yakumo admitted. He raised his finger and wiped his cheek under the eye. It came away from the same black mark. “Whatever the Horrors are made of, their blood burned.”

Shiva nodded. She looked up to the Snake Horror, which had almost completely evaporated. “Disintegrated inside.”

“That sounds about right.” Yakumo recalled the sensation. He did not feel as if he had expelled the black blood, but rather smog. Even his ichor reserve was…corrupted by it.

“We need to change our method of combat with these Horrors.” Louis repeated for Shiva and Rin’s benefit. “If we can’t drain their blood for ichor, we’ll need to ration our remaining Blood Beads.”

“Okay.” Shiva agreed, then took the emptied Bead from Rin. “Regenerate.”

“I’ll try.” Rin closed her eyes and put a hand to her chest. Her breathing picked up and red smoke emitted from her arm as she did. Evaporating blood, Yakumo noted. Her breathing slowed and smoothed out when the bite mark from Shiva sealed.

“One more thing.” Mia showed her hands and displayed two familiar purifier masks. “Here, let me attach it.” And she did, locking Rin’s mask to her frame. However, she was unresponsive.

Yakumo lightly tapped a finger to her healed hand. “…She fell asleep.” 

Mia knocked his hand away. “Stop that, Yakumo. Let her rest. Here, Shiva, your mask.” Shiva took the offered gear and kept it away. 

“We should keep moving.” Louis said. He looked up to the darkening sky. “Shiva’s right. The night is falling and we can’t stay here because of the Horrors.”

“Alright, we have had a good enough break.” Yakumo raised to his feet. He was about to pick up Rin, but Shiva turned around and pulled her arms over her shoulder, letting her rest on her back. Shiva nodded to him.

The jostle woke up the sleeping girl. Rin took a deep breath as her eyes opened slightly. “Let me down, I can walk.” She mumbled.

Shiva simply stood up, carry Rin on her back. “Sleep.” Rin seemed to doze off immediately at that. “Plan?”

Louis gave everyone a quick glance and nodded. “Alright. Just a little bit further and we’ll reach the coast. Once we’re there, we’ll follow the sands and head further westward, away from the forest. Hopefully we can find a port2.” Everyone nodded.

With everything squared away and the Greater Horror finally disappeared from existence, the party of five was ready to head out once more. As Yakumo shifted Rin’s backpack into a comfortable carry, he noticed that Shiva turned around and looked back at the Ruined City once more, frowning. “What’s wrong, Shiva?” 

She was contemplating about something. “The Horror…” 

“The Horrors won’t be able to enter the Gaol.” Yakumo reminded Shiva. 

After a moment, she shook her head. “…It’s nothing.” She turned back to them. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 Random, non-canon Omake: When Shiva stood up to face the Snake, she felt the breeze blowing through. Very slightly, she added ichor to her Blood Veil, controlling it to follow with the wind. Slowly, she raised a closed fist. She pulled her lips in, trembling. _Do I look cool to Rin-Rin?_ She desperately thought. _Please let me look cool to Rin-Rin!_
> 
> ((Rin ish fav girl!))
> 
> 2 Dried Trenches seemed to use to be a cargo harbour/port. Louis is hoping that there will be a different port.
> 
> Gift (Spell List, Game description)  
**Shifting Hollow**: Dash forward in mist form. (Kinda like Shinobi Smoke Bomb + move forward)  
**Vanishing Hollow**: Dodge attacks by transforming into mist. (It's a vertical 'jump/landing')  
**Fire Lily**: Shoots out a swift blade. A short time after sticking into osmething, it detonates. (Actually looks like a spike than a blade)  
**Tormenting Blast** (Yakumo): Leap forward and strike twice. (A double round-the-world spin attack. Doesn't have 'explosion of blood', but the blood had to go somewhere. So I had it similar to Mido's blood explosion swings)


	5. Vein 05 - Apprehension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this, the Kudos and the Bookmarks~~
> 
> This was originally 2 chapters, but I changed it while editing.  
\----------  
**Metus** is the Latin translation of 'Apprehension.' For this fic, the unnamed continent north of **Sanus** (Latin: Sane) and **Solitas** (Latin: Loneliness) shall be named as such. Not the greatest chapter title lelz, not good at it...
> 
> More than half way through WriMo, but only at 20k words done haha *sweatdrop*.  
\----------  
Edits (16/11/19)  
==Yakumo's hair colour was pointed out to be wrong. It's probably my screen or my subtle colourblindness. Edited to his glorious Red. Also some text changes.  
==Minor Chapter 4 edit: Added 'Evening' time descriptor to Louis' words, after they had met back up.  
Edits (22/11/19)  
==Changed the chapter title.

### Vein 05 - Apprehension

#### VSV Alluvium, between Sanus and Metus. En route by sea to Vale, Sanus.

(_Un_)luckily for May, the ferry Team BRNZ took had hot shower. Because of that, she did not get to throw her three teammates—especially Roy—into the sea.

It might not have been as fast as Bullhead (what else other than another airplane could?), but the Alluvium was making good time sailing from Gneiss to Vale Port. The sea was calm and they sailed without incident from any sea-faring Grimms dogging them, so by estimates of Captain Garlet, they should reach Vale by the third evening. If the Team could get off immediately, they would reach Beacon some time during the vacation week, perhaps getting to enjoy the four days that included the weekend. But until then, as the easy-going Captain had suggested for the Huntress-in-training to do, May was going to try and take it easy and enjoy the journey.

According to the various plaques on the dining deck, the Alluvium had been in service for seventeen years and had their entire crew changed once. The previous Captain was caught smuggling drugs and incarcerated, causing the rest of the crew to be fired for accepting bribes and attempting to hide their involvement. After five months of it floating uselessly in Gneiss, Garlet was promoted to Captain and got the ship with little fanfare. The company crewed the sailors shortly after, then the Alluvium sailed once again after the seventh month of inactivity.

Chatting with the crews during their downtime (because she did not want to talk to her Team yet), May learned that the new crew had not changed since and, in the past eight years, had built a bond between most of them. They regularly sailed between Vacuo, Vale and Atlas—not approaching Mistral due to the ocean they would have to travel, which this ferryship was not built or equipped for—transporting trade goods such as mined rock minerals and sand from their home port and processed goods from Vale or Atlas. However, the Alluvium avoided Dust-based products as the ship was, once again, not equipped to handle security for it.

Much like all of the current generation of trade seaships, the Alluvium came equipped with four mounted turrets. The belt-fed machine-cannon turrets were built on raised housing-platform at the port and starboard, two in the front and two behind. Within the housing platform were the mechanisms for spooling the ammunition belt, which had to be handled manually. So each turret was a two-man job, not including the runner required to bring stored ammunition kept elsewhere for safety. The turrets were set to rotate up to a maximum of one hundred and twenty degrees, allowing two turrets to overlap each other's firing zone as needed. The turrets were rated to deal with most sea-based Grimms and a few air-borne ones such as Lancers and Manticores, provided their munitions were swapped to flak-types to compensate. Otherwise, it was up to the sailors to defend the ferry from boarders using various Altas-rated weaponries.

May was currently standing at one of the platforms on the front-starboard side, looking out at the sea towards Sanus. She was permitted permission to approach the gun after the Team had identified themselves as Huntsmen-in-training, but she was not planning to touch it at all. It was not as if she could use it anyway, since the manual usage of the weapon required a keycard to unlock the safety. She was just enjoying the breeze and view, occasionally imagining herself throwing her team into the sea from said platform. She left Nornhowl in their room, locked away in the weapon cabinet along with the rest of the Team's weapons.

Between the muffled engines below her and the yelling behind her, it was the quietest outdoor area she could find. May sighed.

She was bored.

She started slapping on the railing in frustration. She could've been sightseeing and shopping at this moment! _But nnnooo! Oh, let's take a boat ride because classes suck._ "Grr!" She slammed both hands on the steel at the final growl.

Frustration temporarily released with a huff, May leaned forward, a hand crossed over her chest on the railing and the other's palm supporting her head on the elbow. She stared forward, watching the migrating birds flocking in the same direction as the ferry, quickly overtaking it with their graceful flapping.

She barely acknowledged the sound of the engines quietened down. She barely cared until she heard someone shouted her name. "May!" She blinked. "May!" She turned.

Nolan was at the base of the stairs climbing up by the moment May had turned her head. He was cradling Nornhowl, an act that could have gotten her weapon confiscated if any security had seen it, which soured her mood again. "Nolan, why are you running with my weapon?!"

"The Captain gave us consent." Surprisingly, it was no-nonsense Nolan. At the last two steps of the stairs, he held it up to her.

May stood straighter in response and took Nornhowl from him. "What's going on?" Even the magazine had been loaded and chambered. The safety was still on.

Nolan waved to follow him and headed down. He led the way to the port side. "The Chief spotted smoke from Grimm Continent and confirmed five individuals on the shores."

"_That_ Grimm Continent?" May recalled the history lesson during her Oscuro Academy days. There used to be a thriving Kingdom on Metus—most referred to it as Grimm nowadays—Continent that would had been on par with Vale and Mantle of old. It was swarmed by Ancient Grimms, which historians had attributed to have been awakened by the Great War. "Who would step foot onto that continent?"

"No idea. Roy is betting on them being some Atlas Specs, though." They reached a part of the port where the sailors were rushing about.

"What about us?"

Rather squeezing up the already cramped tiny stairs, they hopped up from the railing to the next level, then up again. "Captain wants us to just keep an eye out for sea Grimms. They're going to try and pick them up."

"May! Nolan!" Brawnz and Roy came running to them. 

“What’s the order, Boss?” Nolan asked.

“One of the Officers and a Seaman are going to take a dinghy and retrieve the stranded Huntsmen on the Metus shores. They requested two of us to go with them, just in case.” Brawnz then pointed to Nolan. “Nol, both of us will go: In the event that they’re not actually Huntsmen but armed bandits, between myl takedowns and your electric baton, we can arrest them using non-lethal methods. Otherwise, we’re acting as security and with every right to be there. So put your best game face on” Brawnz explained. It was a respectable leadership trait that Brawnz came equipped with on day one, to elaborate his thoughts and orders. “May, do your usual stuff. Roy will remain on standby. And both of you will also be responsible for protecting the Alluvion if things hit the fan.”

“Alright partner. Happy to sit out the tinier deathtrap.” Roy gave a mock salute.

That meant she would be covering Brawnz and Nolan. She quickly looked to the side, just seeing Metus Continent, and estimated the distance. It was just within the range of Nornhowl and would require roughly one point five seconds of travel time for her bullets to reach the land. A little bit beyond her comfortable range, but she could work with it. Turning back to Brawnz, she nodded. “I got you covered.” 

————-

#### Unnamed shore away from the Ruined City, Unknown.

##### 38 hours after the Greater Horror’s death

After looking at a sea of grass fields to their right and a wall of tree trunks to their left, they had finally arrived at the end of the metaphorical road.

Water.

Water as far as the eyes can see.

"Feels a bit lonely when you look at it this way, doesn't it?" Yakumo commented.

Waves of water crashed upon the sandy shores, producing rhythmic noise that was surprisingly pleasant to listen to. Dead branches and leaves had been washed ashore, pushed up to the soil and creating a form of raised water-breaking line from years of natural battering. Louis spent more moments looking at the tiny winged creatures he had not seen in years, congregating together for safety and nesting: Seagulls.

"Hate 'em."

"Hm? You said something Shiva?" Yakumo looked to the woman.

Shiva wrinkled her nose. All of a sudden, a large flaming four-point star appeared from her hand. "…Cook 'em."

"No! Shiva," Mia hooked her arm around the ignited hand of Shiva's, which immediately dissipated the Gift, "we're not going to attack innocent creatures!"

A Fire Lily popped out of the same hand. "…Just one." Shiva negotiated.

Rin joined Mia to drag her away. "No. They haven’t done anything!" The Gift dissipated again

Shiva pulled up Queenslayer. "…Just maim."

"No!" Mia and Rin yelled together.

Louis, Yakumo and the gulls watched as the women followed the coastline to their right and went off. "What was that about?" Yakumo scratched the back of his neck.

"I have no idea." Louis looked back to the birds, which returned to frolicking on their own, none the wiser about their near-death fate.

Both of them started walking, following the girls toward the direction he explained yesterday. Yakumo rolled his shoulders and shifted the backpack. “If we don’t find a port, what are you planning for us to do?”

“I don’t know.” Louis admitted. “If we don’t see any signs of it before we reach the base of the mountains, we’ll turn around and go along the edge of the forest instead.”

“It is in the same direction as the Trenches. Do you reckon that there will be another port pass that?”

Yakumo raised the same concern that Louis had. “It’ll be the next hope. Otherwise, we’ll use the trees to build a raft.”

“Crossing the ocean on a raft is going to make an interesting experience.” Yakumo crossed his arms and thought about it. His best friend always had such high spirits for ideas like these. “The forest. I can’t recall the last time I went into a forest.”

“Visibility will be an issue.” The danger associated with travelling through the forest was one of the few reasons why Louis did not want to go in the direction. “Especially the shade. The Horrors are primarily black in colour. They’ll have far too many places they can camouflage in and ambush us.”

The next hour was spent in silence as they marched along the shoreline, trying to find signs of the living from a bygone age. But as the sun rose to its apex and the relatively flat grassland was inclining upwards slowly, Louis was ready to call for a stop when he found himself walking passed Shiva. He stopped beside her. Yakumo kept going. “Is something wrong?”

Shiva was frowning…No, she was squinting her eyes as she looked out to the ocean. Then she raised a hand to shade her eyes from the sun. Louis turned, looking out in general direction. All he saw was more seawater.

“…A ship?”

A ship! Someone was alive outside of the Gaol, after all! “Are you certain?” How was Shiva seeing such details?

Shiva nodded. “Positive.” She was still staring out to the ocean.

“What’s up?” Yakumo called out.

“Shiva saw a ship!” Louis replied.

Everyone else stopped and looked back to him. “Seriously!” Yakumo tried to look out to sea like he did. “We got someone out there?”

Mia and Rin looked as well. “I don’t see anything.” Rin had the same outcome as Louis. Yakumo even tried to tip-toe and bend forward. Mia unslung Brodiaea and tried to look through the iron sight.

“I don’t see it ei—Wait, I think—I see it!” Mia was yelling in excitement by the end of her sentence.

“Louis.” He turned to Shiva. She had dropped her hand and turned to him. “Signal.”

_That’s right, there’s no way they’ll notice us without some sort of signal._ “We’ll have to use smoke. We need something we can burn for smoke.” He scanned their immediate area: An abundance of grass; Flowers that attracted insects and the girls to pick them earlier; Lots of bushes… “The bushes! Gather the branches, twigs and leaves. Rin, find rocks or dig a pit. We’ll set up a fire pit.”

As fast as they could, they worked to build a fire in hopes of getting the attention of the ship. Yakumo easily hacked through the bushes, leaving them for Shiva to break them down further. Rin outlined a fire pit using rocks, which both Mia and Louis had filled with kindling. Once a sizable amount of burnables were set, Louis set it ablaze with a Gift of Fire Storm. Yakumo and Shiva continued to gather more kindling while Louis made sure the fire burned. Mia and Rin headed further onto the shore, with their sniper scanning the ocean again for the ship.

“It’s still out there. I don’t think they saw the smoke yet. It’s sailing away!”

“Hey! Over here!” Rin started hollering and jumping, waving as hard as she could.

Louis tossed more kindling into the flame, turning it into a blaze. He made sure the backpack Yakumo left there was well away from it.

“Come on,” Mia mumbled just loud enough to be heard. “Turn around and see us.”

Rin inhaled, then yelled as loud and long as she could. “Hey!” Once she was out of breath, she slumped to the sand.

Yakumo dragged a bush over and tossed the whole thing into the budding bonfire. The fire pit Rin built was rendered ineffective by it. “If they don’t see it…”

“It’s not the end of the hope yet.” Louis went into what Rin called it his ‘Thinking Mode.’ “We can at least confirmed that life outside of Gaol had thrived, or stayed safe long enough for technology to be rebuilt. As long as we can get off from this continent, either now or by ourselves later, we should be able to find a settlement or stronghold.” Louis pointed in the direction where the ship was sailing away to. “At the very least, we can follow in the same direction as the ship.”

Shiva dropped another bush into the bonfire. It was getting out of control.

Mia took a sharp breath. “The ship is slowing. I think they saw the smoke!”

“Yes!” Rin gained a second wind and started jumping and hollering once more.

The party, in their various ways, watched and waited for the ship's crew to make another motion. Excitement from Rin; Hopefulness from Mia; Eagerness from Yakumo; Louis himself felt a little bit of all of the above. When he turned to Shiva by his side, however…

Indifferent.

Shiva was just eyeing the ship, slouching on one leg, one hand held on the waist while the other that held Queenslayer that tapping its flat-side to her leg. Her eyes were frowning slightly and her lips were pressed to a thin line.

"Shiva, what's wrong?"

"…Worried." She admitted after considering an answer. "…Wary." She added after a moment.

And she was right to be. These would be the very first group of people they meet outside of the Gaol. There was no indication if it would be a good or bad thing at the moment. Perhaps a little bit of wariness was warranted, until proven otherwise.

"We'll keep our guard up." Yakumo had heard Shiva's words and replied the same thought as himself. Louis offered both of them a nod, mentally preparing for anything.

Shiva hummed. "They're coming. Small boat, six people."

A minute later, Louis could hear the noise of an engine sputtering through the air. The lifeboat they rode was fast approaching the shore. As Shiva had said, six people were occupying the boat: four older men, facial hair all around; A mustached man steering the boat at the back with the engine was dressed in full uniform suit and an angular hard hat; The other three were sailors wearing round caps, singlets and uniform pants, two guarding the lifeboat with a rifle and shotgun respectively, the last carried a sheathed sword on his belt; As well as two young men, both not visibly armed, with contrasting skin colours where one was light and bright and the other was orange and tanned. And both had growing red faces and looked to the surrounding.

The seaman, one with the rifle, started laughing out of nowhere. The orange-skinned man turned to the seaman, which Louis assumed he was replying to him.

When the lifeboat drew close to the shore, the boat's captain stopped the engine and drew it up to the boat. The sword seaman took out a pair of oars and gave it to the young men to row to shore. Now that they were closer, Louis could make out their details and realised that the younger men were essentially teenagers.

Louis decided that basic courtesy could help form a friendly first meeting and left Enduring Crimson where he stood. "Yakumo, leave the sword and help me bring their boat inland."

"You got it!"

Once the lifeboat was close enough, Louis and Yakumo stepped into the water and approached it. Just before Louis could reach for the boat, the light-skinned teen brandished his oar and pointed at him. "Woah hey, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry?"

Disoriented by the sudden hostility, Louis took a second to process the question. But before he could reply, one of the experienced seaman, with the shotgun, answered for him. "The two Pro Huntsmen are just offering to drag the boat ashore. Now why don't you two fledglings Huntsmen get off the boat and help your seniors?"

_Pro huntsmen?_ Louis blinked at the term.

The orange teen groaned as he grabbed the raised oar from the distrusting one. "Come on, Nol. You've done enough damage." He set the oars down and was about to vault from the boat.

"Hey, it's fine." Yakumo stopped the nameless teen. "We can get it done." He grabbed the edge of the boat. "Louis?"

Nodding, Louis also took a hold.

"Ready."

"I know you two are Pro Huntsmen but there's—Woah!" The sword seaman, as well as the teens and another seaman, yelled in shock when both the Revenants pulled and dragged the lifeboat across the shallowing waters and up the sands easily. "Huntsmen Semblance bullshit powers!"

_Again with 'Huntsmen.' And what is 'Semblance?'_

Rin, Mia and Shiva—who took their swords and Rin’s backpack and moved down to the shore—had stepped aside and watched the two pulled the lifeboat in. Once they were sufficiently inland and out of the water, Louis and Yakumo set the lifeboat down and joined their friends.

On the other side, the teens and three crewmen got off the lifeboat. Only the rifle seaman stayed on the lifeboat, watching the Revenants but making no hostile movements. The Officer stepped forward. "I'm Rusty, the Second Mate of the Vacuo Shipping Vessel Alluvion." Officer Rusty introduced himself. "We saw your smoke and one of your lady friends attempting to signal us. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"My name is Louis Amamiya." Louis stepped up. "My friends and I live here."

"Live here!" 'Nol' sounded far too shocked than expected. "In the dead city?"

"Nolan!" The orange teen elbowed the named light-skinned teen. He turned to the frowning Officer Rusty. "My apologies sir. But you have to admit it is surprising."

Officer Rusty nodded and returned to Louis. "Are there any other survivors in the city? And how did all of you survive the Grimm all this time?"

"'Grim?'" Louis repeated the name.

Shiva got his attention with a pat. "The Horrors." She nodded to them. "Black beasts, red eyes, random amounts of white armour platings?"

Officer Rusty hmm'd. "I'm assuming you're the third generation of survivors? Or the fourth?" He shook his head before Louis could answer. "You're right in that those 'Black Beasts,' your 'Horrors,' are what the rest of the world called 'Grimm.' Relentless, endless monsters. How are you and yours surviving the horde in a destroyed city?"

For some reason, Shiva decided to take over the negotiation. "Barrier. Fatal to Grimm and living beings. Keeps them out. Keeps us in. A prison, for safety."

"For over eighty years?" Officer Rusty whistled, impresses. "Now that is some technology, or Semblance to have lasted so long." He sounded more contemplative than suspicious. Before Louis backtrack his thoughts to what he heard.

"Wait, 'eighty years?'" He looked to his friends, all of them looking back to him with wide eyes of surprise. _The Great Collapse happened just…how many years ago?_ He was suddenly confused. When did the Great Collapse occurred? How could he have forgotten that?

Even his friends were confused. In the midst of all that happened, none of them even remembered something that should be common knowledge to them.

Officer Rusty sighed. "I suppose that your parents might not have known about the Great War, cut off from the rest of the world. Well, your odd name certainly makes more sense now."

Great **War**. Not Great **Collapse**. Louis' heart started to beat errantly. Just what was going on? Memory loss might be a thing, but for all five of them to have lost the memory of the date of their history? 1

"Louis," Rin was holding onto her forehead, "what's going on? Why can't we recall it?"

Mia was shaking her head. "There are some data about the appearance of Horrors during the Great Collapse. But if it was written by someone during the Collapse, why didn't the author called them 'Grim?' Why 'Horror?'"

The Great Collapse. The Great War. Eighty years of isolation from the outside world? Lack of memory about it from all five of them? 

What was going on? 2

—————  
Nolan still could not look at the survivors of the ruined kingdom without feeling the heat to his face. He had reeled the feeling in as much as he could, but his teenage biology was simply hard to hold it in.

_'Holy smokes, the girls are _hot!_'_ And two of them were barely wearing anything, leaving little to imagination. 

First, there was the Faunus beauty that struck a sense of danger to him. The shoulder-pad cloak was an odd piece, but there was no mistaking the chains and leathers she sported. She even had a collar that completed the ensemble! Combined with the fact that she was a Cat Faunus with a killer body? She could put a number of Shade's seniors to shame, especially with the confidence she exuded. The dried blood on the left arm and dyed glove was a little bit too extreme, however. Points minused.

Then there was the blonde beauty with the tall fur hat and bayonet rifle. Of the three girls she was the most properly dressed, a tough-looking coat over her blue dress. Coupled with her soft features, it bore a kind of hidden-secrets vibe to it. 

Finally, there was the redheaded late bloomer. The only person he had seen with even less wear on was May, but only just once and that absolutely was by accident! (No one else would ever know it! That was the problem with sharing the same room with the opposite gender! Why did she even leave the bathroom just covering the front far too early in the morning!) She was probably turning heads now, who knew what would happen in a few more years when the redhead blooms further into a rose. The mask she wore was odd, though…At that thought, he wanted to see how she looked like without the mask.

Maybe that mask was to block off the stench they were exuding. They smelled like death warmed over.

And with that, Nolan noticed one thing the Survivors of the Ruined Kingdom had in common: The metal things that were fit on their jaws to their ears, with the Faunus and the Redhead having neck braces as well. Some sort of jaw-protecting armour? That did not sound right, but it was the only thing he could think of.

“Hey now.” Officer Rusty called out to them. They broke their circle of discussion among themselves about their knowledge crisis, with Amamiya stepping out. “I know all of you have a lot of things to learn about the outside world and probably cross reference with the knowledge your parents or grandparents told you, but we should do that back on the ship, away from here.”

That brought him back to the situation at hand, which was him and Brawnz standing on the Grimm Continent of Metus. Just how they had not yet been attacked by now was anyone’s guess. Maybe these group of five (and their survivor friends) had some super weapons that totally destroyed Grimms.

Amamiya cast his sight to his people and nodded. Their previous downcast and contemplative expressions changed to jubilation and they started moving. Amamiya turned back to Rusty bowed. “Thank you for the assistance. We had been thinking of how to get off the continent in order to make contact with the outside world.” When the tiny redhead pulled the massive backpack up and over, Nolan did a double-take.

_'Maybe it’s empty. Or maybe she has a strength semblance.'_

Rusty glanced back to Nolan and Brawnz. “Get on the boat, all of us are leaving. Keep watching for Grimm.” Both of them nodded and started for the boat. “Come on. We’re heading towards Vale Kingdom. Are there anymore survivors we should attempt to pick up?”

“There’s no one else outside of the barrier except us.” Amamiya replied. Nolan, now standing at the front of the lifeboat, looked to the survivors and Rusty. The other redhead, a man carrying a giant sword with two blades—one longer over the other—resting over his right shoulder, took the lead towards the boat, followed by the Blonde then the Red-Girl. The Faunus stayed with Amamiya, who approached Rusty to talk. “We are the advance party, meant to actually explore the Ruined City for places we can set up a Forward Operating Base, but that plan was changed to this.”

“Hey mates.” Their heavy-swordsman called out. He was talking to one of the sailors still on the sand, next to the lifeboat. “Thanks for giving us a ride off this continent.”

The addressed sailor was the first person to visibly react to the stench, placing the back of a hand to his nose. He quickly dropped it as he spoke. “You’re welcome, but you should be thanking our First Mate, Midori. He was the one who saw your smoke.”

“That’s awesome!” Heavy said. “I’m Yakumo. Yakumo Shinonome.” He stepped to his side, pointing to each girls waiting behind him. “She’s Mia Karnstein. And she’s Rin Murasame. And our friend there with Louis is Shiva.”

“Ahmar Manal.” The sailor introduced in return. “This one’s Digo In. The one on the boat is Bai Lei." Ahmar gestured to the boat. "Let's get you onboard."

"How about the two of you?" Yakumo asked as he dropped his giant sword in. Nolan offered a hand to the Blonde—Miss Mia Karnstein—who took it and pulled her aboard.

"Thank you." Even her voice sounded angelic.

"You're welcome, Miss Karnstein. Nolan Porfirio is always ready to help." He gave his best smile.

"If you're done flirting, come help me!" Brawnz yelled. Nolan found his team leader attempting to pull the massive backpack onboard. He snorted. "The heck are you laughing at? Get over here!"

"Come on, Brawnz Ni, Leader of Team BRNZ. Miss Murasame totally just carried that herself. You can do it!" Both Mia and Rin—standing beside her backpack—giggled. Success! He leaned towards Mia. "That's us, by the way. Our two other teammates are on the ship." Nolan introduced his team leader. Mia nodded.

Brawnz stood aside. "Alright Nol, if you're such a hotshot, go ahead." He waved at the backpack.

"Alright Boss, let me show you how it's done." Nolan cracked his arms and elbows, loosening any stiffness, then grabbed the backpack by the straps. He pulled.

The thing did not budge.

"Oh? Show me what, Nol?" Nolan could hear the smug from Brawnz. Yakumo was holding both the boat and his laugh.

Nolan tried to pull it up again, managing to lift it off the ground by centimetres, then he had to drop it. "What the hell is inside this thing?!" He yelled, disbelief of the weight of possessed. The survivors laughed with Mia giggling.

"Aren't the two of you going to be Huntsmen in the future?" Ahmar stepped up behind the backpack, laying both hands to the bottom of it to carry it up. "If the two of you can't even lift, I'm afraid I fear fffooorrrr what is in this thing?!" Ahmar slipped and fell back.

"See! I told you there's something in it!" Brawnz pointed at it. "What the hell is it?"

"Oh, just my babies for equipment maintenance stuff." Rin explained once she stopped laughing. She helped Ahmar up to his feet. "Slabs of Iron, Steel and Titanium. The bestest friend in Armourer business, an Anvil. Some rations and Beads."

…What in the name of the Brothers?

"Don't worry about it." Rin climbed aboard with Mia's help, then took the straps and _effortlessly_ carried it up onto the boat. Nolan swore he felt the lifeboat sank deeper into the sand. He would be further surprised later when he thought about why it did not break. She set it down in the centre of the boat. "That'll do."

There must have been some trick or prank in it.

"Everything's good to go?" Rusty stood beside the boat and eyed all of them.

The sailors stood straight. "Yes, sir." Ahmar replied.

"Once we are onboard, we're good to go, sir." Digo continued.

"Very well," Rusty said, "let's get on and cast off from here." He took Bai's offered hand and climbed on, taking his original seat at the engine.

Ahmar tilted his head to the boat at Louis, Yakumo and Shiva, telling them to get on as well. Yakumo shook his head. "The two of you should get on instead. We'll push the boat out."

"If you're certain." Ahmar breathed out a sigh, probably relieved that he did not need to push the weighed down boat.

Louis waved to Shiva. She nodded, then opened her free—bloodied glove—hand to him. "Crimson. Oni-Bane." Louis passed her his oversized sword.

"Right. Let me just put it away." Yakumo reached over the edge of the boat with his giant sword, which Rin took a hold off. "Thanks." Rin shut her eyes and nodded.

Shiva, too, placed Louis' and her sword in the nook under the surface of the boat's edge. Nolan offered his hand and best smile to her. "Ma'am." She raised an eyebrow, but reached for his hand.

Then paused.

And stared. Eyes opening wide.

Nolan kept his hand held, but he was losing his smile quickly. He was confused. "Eeerrmmm?"

"Must've caught you checking her out and trying to decide on a punishment." Brawnz piped in. Nolan started to sweat.

"Shiva?" Mia called out. The Faunus had no movement, not hearing the Blonde. "Shiva," the woman finally reacted, blinking her eyes rapidly, "are you alright?"

"Y—yeah." She was breathing hard. She shook her head. "Sorry." She took his hand and he got her onboard. Nodding in appreciation to Nolan, she joined the rest of the girls next to the backpack.

_What was that about? _

—————

#### Bridge, VSV Alluvion

First Mate Midori let out a sigh. "Finally!" He said and put down his binoculars. "Rusty is on his way back."

"What was taking them so long to pick up five Huntsmen?" Navigator Fyre was reading the newspaper from before they left Gneiss, flipping a page as he commented.

Garlet sipped her cooling coffee and hoping for a few more minutes of good fortune. "The moment they are aboard, raise the anchor and full speed ahead." She rather not stay stationary for any longer this close to the Grimm Continent.

There was a beep from the sonar, picking up everyone’s attention and Garlet’s unvoiced curse for jinxing it: The sonar did not ping sea life unless it was travelling over a certain speed.

Fyre dropped the newspaper on the panel and checked the radar. He stared at the screen as the sonar beeped several times further, then tapped on the keyboard. Picking up the headphones and listening to the hydrophone for another moment, Fyre cursed in Mistralian. "Large unidentified creature travelling at eighty KPH. It's going to swim under us in less than thirty seconds!"

Garlet immediately slammed her free hand on emergency signal. She could hear the siren blasted over the PA system from outside the Bridge as the five crewmen in here got serious. "Weapon systems are warming up. Fifteen seconds to until they are armed and ready." Midori reported.

"Civvies are been escorted back to their cabins." Officer Cocoa reported. "Crewmen are getting log jammed by the folks on their way to the armoury!"

"Engines are hot and idling." Fyre reported. "As long as anchors are raised, we can sail!"

"Do it, but head towards Rusty." She was not going to leave behind nine lives. _'We won't be able to outrun the bastard anyway.'_ Garlet checked the sonar. Red ping was coming in from behind them on the starboard side. From the readings, it was around a hundred metres underwater and rising in a gentle angle. The long, winding tube on the sonar was certainly not any wayward whales. _‘Why is there a sea-grimm of this size in this water?’_ They never had one in this shipping lane. "Midori, weapons free. The moment it surfaces, blast it into oblivion."

“Yes Captain.” He replied. "It's still under the firing deadzone."

It was still far from the water surface. Whatever it was, it was aiming at the underside of the Alluvion. They were not rated and equipped with sea mines, so they were vulnerable if it decided to attack from below. _'Please don't do it!'_ Garlet prayed to the Brothers. "Brace for impact!"

The creature swam under them.

The creature swam passed them.

Rather than feeling grateful, Garlet felt dread. There was only one other target on the sea and it was going after the easier meal! "Comms!"

"Ma'am!" Communications Officer Zinc called out.

"Get in touch with Rusty! Tell him they got incoming and to get the hell out of there!"

—————

#### Lifeboat

The smell of the salty sea was a god sent, especially since he was at the front of the lifeboat and they were travelling forward. As much as Nolan enjoyed the view of the girls, their stench was getting to him.

_'I pity Rusty and Bai. They are still at the back and have to breathing through all of it.'_

Nolan watched as the survivors huddled with each other, relaxing and enjoying the sea ride. Only Shiva looked apprehensive, but Nolan chalked it up to her being a Cat Faunus. And cats tended to dislike water. Louis seemed to be trying his best to reassure her. It made Nolan wonder if they were a thing.

Mia was discussing with Rin, their topic of conversation lost to the wind. But judging by the bayonet rifle held between the two girls and being referred to from time to time, Nolan could guess at what they were talking about. Guns were vulnerable to water and the one Mia was holding looked like a museum piece.

Yakumo was completely relaxed, lying with one arm on the boat's rim and looking out towards the ocean.

Rusty seemed to be having a conversation, one finger pressing into his ear… _'Oh, that's an earpiece. Is he talking to the—'_

"Are you serious?!" Rusty suddenly yelled, attracting everyone's attention. He looked up to everyone on the lifeboat, a look of fear and anguish passing through his facade. "Just leave us and get out of here. Go!"

_'What did he just say?'_

Louis stood up before Nolan or Brawnz—his Leader was going to ask the same thing. "What's happening, sir?"

Rusty grabbed the steering and started to turn the lifeboat. "We got a giant sea Grimm of some kind coming right after us!" That was the last thing Nolan wanted to hear. And everyone else as well, based on their gasps. "I'm sorry everyone.” He was addressing the survivors more than the rest of them. “You made it so far, but I had to essentially just told them to abandon us. I had to consider the hundreds of lives on board the Alluvion to the nine of us."

“You can’t be serious!” Nolan yelled. “We’ve seen the guns on the ship! Surely you can shoot dead the Grimm!”

Rusty shook his head. “Not against something this big. For whatever reason, it’s ignoring the ship right now and coming towards us, likely as an easy target. We can save hundreds of lives if we just keep its attention.”

“We didn’t sign up for this.” Brawnz said. “We are just passengers and responding to Captain Garlet’s request for assistance, not to be worm food.”

Ahmar stepped up. “Hey, you brats think we want this? You’re Huntsmen-trainees! The two of you sign up for exactly this—”

Beside their lifeboat, the water surface rose up in the shape of a dome, defying physics for a quick second. Then the dome exploded with a long, serpentine monstrosity breaking the surface. A line of white dominated Nolan’s sight, rising and towering over the tiny lifeboat. Eventually, when the water crashed down from the Grimm’s body, the line twisted and rolled, showing off a shiny set of white scaled underbelly, black scaly body, a pair of arms the length of two Nolans with deadly sharp claws, a head of bone-white armour and a pair of evil red eyes.

_‘Oh shit the beds.’_

_‘That’s a bloody Sea Feilong!’_

_‘We’re fucked.’_

The Sea Feilong eyed the lifeboat menacingly. It opened its maw and sparks started flying from its mouth, gathering into an orb.

Bai, Digo and Mia started firing their guns at it. All of their rounds were ineffective against it, even the explosive Dust rounds that Mia was using. From the ferry, Nolan could see tiny flashes of light from May’s sniper rifle, but otherwise the ship was merely attempting to turn towards them.

“Why isn’t the ship firing!” Brawnz roared over the crackling of electricity and the shooting.

“Because we’re in the firing line.” Rusty shouted. He stabbed at the earpiece. “Damn it, Garlet, shoot it or leave us!”

This was it. There was no way to get out of this.

Nolan was going to haunt Roy’s ass until the day he died.

“Yakumo, barrier.”

“Let’s do it, Shiva.”

Nolan turned to the survivors. How were they not panicking? He watched as Yakumo and Shiva raised their hand to their chest and thought _‘Are they bleeding themselves! Onto their hands? What the hell are they doing?! Some till-death-do-us-part stuff?’_ The two survivors then threw their hands outwards, throwing out the two handfuls of blood.

The blood arced through the air, scattering into droplets.

The droplets vaporised violently.

A red film stretched from the point of the vaporisation and quickly encapsulated the lifeboat. The yellow orb of death in the Grimm’s mouth became tainted with red.

A second film stretched outside. The world completely looked red now.

Everything flashed into white.

————

#### VSV Alluvion

Roy had ran to the Bridge, wondering why the hell were they not shooting at the Sea Feilong. That left powerless May to be the one witnessing the Team’s demise. “No!” She yelled uselessly, cycling the bolt and pulling the trigger as fast as she could.

The lightning orb fired directly into the lifeboat. Thunder crackled across the surface of the ocean.

The lifeboat disappeared in an explosive shower of seawater.

“No…” May’s knees weakened and she collapsed to the deck. “Brawnz…Nol…”

The Sea Feilong screamed to the sky in triumph. Until the deck turrets started firing at it.

May stared at the misty vapours of the aftermath, listless. 

The guns were attracting the Grimm’s anger more than damaging it. It twisted in the air to face the ship. It roared, then started to gather its lightning breath again.

As the flashing lights grew, thunder reaching its crescendo, something shot out of the vapours, catching May’s sight immediately. “No way.” It was the lifeboat, looking unscathed. “Brawnz! Nolan!” She yelled excitedly, not caring if there was no way for them to hear it.

But then May realised something: She was looking at the long-side of the lifeboat, the front of it pointing towards the Grimm.

_‘Why are they heading towards it?!’_

————

#### Lifeboat

Brawnz really thought he was dead. Blinded by whiteness and deafened by echoing silence, he remained where he laid on the hard surface of whatever Heaven was made of.

Then he felt movement underneath him, jerking him slightly. He felt swaying from side to side, then recalled where he died.

_‘Is this the ferry to the afterlife? Am I on the Navy Hones’ Sailing Valerian?’_

The whiteness receded slightly. Brawnz could barely make out the blurry silhouettes of those that died with him. His eyes stung, instinctively bringing a hand up to rub it. When he felt the sensation and the hard boards on his back, he started registering words. They sounded like they were underwater,.

_“We need to lure it to the shore somehow. Otherwise we can’t do anything significant against it.”_

_“And how are we going to do it? It’s completely ignoring our gunfire! And that thing is more interested in the Alluvion now!”_

_‘Alluvion? Where did I hear that before…?’_

_“If we don’t_ even attempt something, everyone on that ship is going to die.”

“How are we even alive!”

_‘Nolan?!’_ The voices finally cut through the echoes, bringing his mind back to reality. Brawnz opened his eyes to see a cloud of mist around them. “Shit, we’re alive?” It was the most significant thing that entered his thoughts.

“Not for long, if we can’t get around that thing.” Rusty yelled from behind him. The lifeboat was idling, its engine beating noisily once every moment. The Officer was trying to see through the cloud, looking at the flashing black serpent silhouette just beyond it. Brawnz could also hear loud explosions coming from it. “The ship can’t outrun it and we’re only armed with minimal weaponry. If we can’t make it lose interest in us, none of us are leaving here alive.”

“Closer.” The Faunus of their party shouted. “Get in front. Attack it.”

“And how are you going to do that with a single sword? Curse like a sailor at it? Last I check, you’re a Cat Faunus, not a Bird-type!” Rusty had a point.

For whatever reason, Shiva took out a metal mask of some kind—A rebreather? Was she planning to _swim_ to it?—and put it on. The moment her rebreather snapped over the lower half of her face, an…aura of some kind exuded from her. Her anger felt deepened, eyebrows frowning harsher. ‘And did her eyes just grew red?’

“Louis, Yakumo. Boat.” Shiva said…No, she _commanded_. There was something in her muffled voice that commanded _Strength_ and _Respect_, a kind of _Confidence_ that few Huntsmen Veterans could put out with words alone. Even the sailors were taken aback. “Rin, rest. Mia, with me.” Rin wanted to protest, but Yakumo was beside her immediately to calm her. Mia simply had her eyes widened and blinked.

"I won't be able to use Brodiaea for much longer."

"Gift." Shiva simply said. "Join with me." The Blonde Sniper hardened her stance and nodded.

Brawnz knew he was missing some context. 

Then one Brawnz originally thought was the Survivors’ Leader nodded. “What are you thinking?”

“Jump it. Take its head off.” Shiva said it so casually Brawnz thought she was joking with her words, that she had an actual, _real_ plan behind it, like a Leader would.

But Louis was seriously considering it. “We won’t be able to help you. At all.”

Shiva nodded. She looked to Brawnz, then to Nolan. “Stay.” She said, then looked around further at the sailors, ending at Rusty.

The Officer took a deep breath. "Alright, ma'am." He grabbed the steering bar, activating the propeller and headed for the Grimm. "I hope you know what you're doing. Get ready!"

They were doing this…Or rather, Shiva was going to do this. How was she going to actually do this? The Team Leader of BRNZ could not fathom out. But he was at the front row seat to it. Perhaps he could learn something about plans, tactics and leadership from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N**: Nah mate, you’re not gonna learning anything useful.
> 
> 1 I kind of screwed this up a little bit. I forgot that the Great War occurred 80 years ago, not 50. And I dunno how or why I thought that the Great Collapse occurred 50 years ago, with Queen’s death around 20+ years ago. I seem to recall an NPC said so in a casual conversation, but I could no longer find it, nor were there any references about it by other players. Major screw up on my part.
> 
> But that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking of a logical reason to fix that. It’ll just be…quite a roundabout, and will have loopholes I’ll have to think about. It’s going to be super weird and off when the story starts explaining them.
> 
> 2 Originally I ended the chapter 5 here and started working on chapter 6. During editing, I realised that…Nothing actually happened and it was pretty boring? So after much debate with myself between a ‘2 chapters update special’ or a combined chapter, I decided on the latter.
> 
> —————  
2 more chapters to go till the end of the first arc. After that I’ll have an intermission chapter about the ones left inside the Gaol, I think. See what the gang left behind were doing.
> 
> Finally, there will be at least 3 Revenant OCs. None of them will be focused. And none of them will be stealing the Canon CV characters’ spotlights. Just a quick holler about it because it is just my thought about certain unexplained part of the game (mostly about Relics, which are probably DLCs in the far future).
> 
> —————  
Gifts (Skill/Spell list)  
**Ember Reversal**: Fires a flaming projectile that arcs to cover the user’s rear. —It looks like a large shuriken. Shiva almost used this on the seagulls.—  
**Fire Lily**: Shoots out a swift blade. A short time after sticking into something, it detonates. —Actually looks like a spike than a blade. Shiva almost used this on the seagulls.—  
**Fire Storm** (Louis/Prometheus Blood Code): Shoots a series of flaming projectiles that stagger the enemy. —Louis used this to make the bonfire on the beach.—  
**Foulblood Barrier** (Yakumo/Atlas Blood Code): Creates a single-use barrier around you and your partner that greatly reduces damage. —Can be mastered and used by the Protagonist freely. Yakumo and Shiva used this to very greatly reduced Sea Feilong’s Lightning Blast damage on the Lifeboat.—


	6. Vein 06 - The Grimm Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this, Kudos and Bookmarks~
> 
> Edit **Chapter 5**: Changed Chapter Title.  
\----------  
2nd to last chapter of the First Arc.
> 
> 30k NaNoWriMo. Yeah, it's not happening. Not in time, anyway.

### Vein 06 - The Grimm Sea

#### VSV Alluvion's Lifeboat, Sea between Sanus and Metus Continents.

They passed through the mist of water. The Greater Horror—The Grimm sat on the surface of the sea, its body curled in a wavy-pattern like noodle on one side. On the other, the ship that saw and came to save them was firing their cannons at it.

The shots had no visible effects on it. Instead, it opened its mouth and charged up another Lightning Breath.

Shiva turned her sights from the Greater Grimm to Mia by her side, Brodiaea aimed uselessly at it. More than just tactics and strategies, they also need to change their primary weapons to what the external civilisations were using. Without Blood and Ichor to drain from their opponent, Mia, Eva and any other Revenants that relied on Bayonets and Gifts would not be able to fight against these creatures effectively.

Her ears twitched. Someone from the boat was calling out for the two boys on the lifeboat.

"How are you going to do this, Shiva?" Concern filled her words as Mia kept watching the Grimm. "It's just staying out there on the water."

"Yakumo." She half-answered, half-called out to their resident strong man. He tilted his head to Shiva in question and she nodded to the Grimm. "Throw me."

Yakumo glanced at the Grimm they were approaching rapidly. "...We need to be much closer." To the Officer, he asked. "Can you get us within a hundred metres of that thing?"

"You people are insane!" The Officer complained, but he steered the boat towards it.

"Are you really doing that?" The light-skinned teenager yelled. "How are you even going to cut off its head? It's, like, five times larger than the length of your sword!"

Shiva ignored the Human and closed her eyes, willing her BOR Parasite to activate. She clenched her left fist, pricking her palm with her nail and pooled the ichor on it. Opening her eyes, her vision now clouded with a red hue, she raised it to Mia.

Mia closed her eyes and did the same.

"Is that her semblance?" The darker-skinned one questioned out loud. "Blood bending or control?" Shiva ignored the Human.

Mia opened her eyes and looked to Shiva, hands out.

Shiva grasped it.

Like so many times they had done before, they exchanged their blood and ichor for a burst of boost. Mia's blood, in particular, had an effect that boosted her own affinity with the BOR Parasite, which improved the link between metabolism and ichor conversion for Gift usage. Mia's blood also had a peculiar side effect of making Shiva felt cold, oddly enough.

Maybe her own lost home was near the Snowy Mountains? Mia could not recall it. Nicola only had memories of his very young childhood with his big sister protecting him from bullies.

It was a nice memory to cherish.

"Get ready." At Yakumo's yell, Shiva let go of Mia and looked to the Grimm. The thunder was drowning out any other noise. Yakumo lowered Oni-Bane. "Get on it!"

Shiva got the idea of how he was going to throw her and stepped on the sword. She lowered herself to her knees as well.

The Grimm's head started to reel back. 1

Yakumo lifted and threw her at the Grimm's body. Shiva kicked off Oni-Bane for additional lift. Twisting around to face the head, she reached for her chest and forced ichor to form, her heart beating hard with the BOR Parasite's activation. From under her glove and Blood Veil, ichor gathered and converted into shape and heat. She fanned her hand towards the head.

A single, three-point flaming star shot out of her hand, followed by two more that curved from around her back to her sides. The three flaming stars of her Ember Reversal flew fast and hard, aiming for the jaw of the Greater Grimm.

Just as the Grimm threw its head forward and released its Breath.

—————

#### VSV Alluvion Bridge

Midori saw that there was nothing else he could do. The turrets were not working: The Sea Feilong was just shrugging off the shots.

When the Grimm reeled its head back, he turned to the Bridge crew and yelled. "Get down!" Everyone did as they were warned, but Midori knew that it would not have amounted to any chances of survival when it was aiming at the centre of the ship. But he still followed his own advice, throwing himself off the chair and onto the deck.

There was an explosion. A thunder clapped so near to his ears the world went silent, followed by concussive pressure and a wave of heat, then a shower of debris.

When he finally opened his eyes and realised he was not dead yet, nor on a sinking ship, he looked up to see that the roof of the bridge had a massive hole bored through it, cutting upwards and taken out part of the viewing platform. He looked down towards his station. 

Part of the control system had melted from the heat, including the firing system.

—————

#### Greater Grimm 'Sea Feilong'

The first Ember crashed into the jaw of the Grimm, forcing it shut by explosive force and cutting the Lightning Breath off. The second and third then slammed into its face and pushed the head up, very narrowly saving the ship from a doomed existence.

Unfortunately, her motion had caused her her momentum, slowly down just short of reaching the creature. She faced back forward and Hollowed, dispersing herself in glowing red embers and dashing forward in a wave of mist. The additional distance granted from Shifting Hollow put her just in range of her Blood Veil and she immediately threw out a single Jagged Spear-tip towards the serpentine body from her left, aiming for the white underbelly.

The Ivy Veil pierced between the scales and hooked.

The Grimm felt the stab on its middle and started to move, unfurling itself from the position it was in. Shiva reeled herself in as fast as she could, flying upwards into the sky as she was dragged along for the ride. She had to get on the Grimm before the wind force snap her Veil off.

Unfortunately for her, the Grimm knew exactly what Shiva was doing and twisted its front. Now seeing the Revenant for the second time, the creature flew forward like an arrow.

Shiva saw the fast approaching armoured head. She cut the ichor off from the Ivory Grace and her forward motion slowed.

The Grimm flew through the space between Shiva and its own body, just missing her. But it shredded the Ivy Veil before it could fully disperse into ember. The damage dislocated and nearly tore out her left shoulder, linked to her absorption mask from the cloak-lookalike. More importantly for Shiva, she was completely airborne and no longer had momentum. She fell, dropping out of the sky towards the sea. She twisted in the air and quickly cast her sight.

There! The serpentine body was still following the head and she was falling towards the rear end. She pulled her right hand back, tipping Queenslayer towards the body and thrusted.

The Queenslayer stabbed through the black skin and held. Shiva slammed onto the body.

The Grimm stopped moving.

Shiva pushed herself back up just in time to see face-to-face with the massive skull of the Sea Feilong. The Grimm growled at the tiny figure, red eyes burning with a desire for murder and death.

Micro explosions slapped the skull armour, distracting it momentarily.

Shiva pulled her sword out and bolted, heading down the body.

The Grimm tracked her, thrusting its head forward and snapping with its jaw in an attempt to dislodge or eat her. Shiva was able to dodge, duck and weave through the assault, using the spine-spikes to her advantage and counter-attacked once with a Shadow Assault, knocking it off course. Instead of continuing to attack her, it turned away and moved.

Shiva stabbed Queenslayer down and held on just as it started flying again. Unable to do anything else but hold on, Shiva watched as her living ride tried to rid itself of its unwelcomed passenger. As it turned and twisted in the sky, Shiva forced her Regeneration to activate, healing her dislocated shoulder and bruises from the impact of the fall.

The Grimm stopped in its flight to look at her. It growled, then turned down: it was aiming towards the sea.

If it dived into the water, the pressure was going to throw her off.

Quickly, Shiva willed her Veil to wrap around the nearest Grimm's spike. With her healed left arm crossed over her other shoulder, she forced more ichor to form another Gift. Light and heat began to burn in her palm. As the Grimm began its dive, Shiva threw her hand out as hard as she could, scattering her converted ichor.

The ichor resolved into burning caltrops. The Rose Flame Gift dropped like rain, few of them landing and stabbing at the back of the Grimm as it travelled down towards the sea. The monster looked back and roared, seemingly annoyed by the ineffective attack.

But it slowed down just enough that the remaining Roses to hit the water. They floating on the surface, still glowing brightly.

Shiva threw the remaining bits of her ichor reserves into the head as a Fire Lily. The knife-like Gift flew straight, but it failed to penetrate the armour and deflected away. 

The damn thing snorted.

Then it hit the water.

And the Roses detonated.

The combination of detonations across its back and its front disoriented the roaring Grimm, causing it to veer away shakingly and skimmed the water surface. Shiva felt the impact on its body as it twisted from vertical to horizontal, but she shook off the stun quickly. Withdrawing a vial of Ichor Concentrate from her utility pouch, she stabbed the opening into a receiving port on her purifier mask and ingested its content while she had the chance.

Because the Grimm was unexpectedly heading straight for the lifeboat.

—————  
Nolan and the two front sailors stepped back reflexively out of fear when they saw the Sea Feilong was heading straight towards them. "Oh hell, what do we do?!" He yelled.

"Fire with everything you got, that's what!" Rusty yelled as he pulled the trigger alongside Bai and Mia, but there was no way their basic weapons could do anything. When even the turrets on Alluvion could not do any damage.

Instead of despair, Louis stood and took up his crimson sword. "Yakumo."

Nolan felt a hand on his shoulder. "You should get down." Yakumo said, trying to reassure him. Then he stood next to Louis and raised his giant sword to his shoulder while his other hand to his chest. Like what Shiva and Mia had done earlier, his palm started bleeding. "Ready."

Louis and Yakumo clasped arms. Their eyes grew unnaturally red.

_'Okay, seriously, what the hell is that?'_

The head of the Sea Feilong grew impossibly large as it came so much closer. Nolan could make out the individual grooves on the bone skull, some marked by red Grimm lights.

The two Survivors grasped the respective weapons and raised them, Louis pulling back with a hand and aimed with the other, while Yakumo held his with both hands and high. They stepped on the edge of the boat.

They jumped.

More specifically, they leapt towards the approaching Sea Feilong, their swords poised for an attack.

They struck together! Louis thrusting his sword while Yakumo did a giant overhead swing. Both attacks aimed directly at the skull.

The water around the Grimm's head exploded from the impact. Momentarily, Nolan could no longer see the skull. He thought they had actually killed it!

A moment later, behind the lifeboat, another splash sounded explosively with a roar. Nolan turned just in time to see the familiar but much hated white skull appear.

Just as he heard two thuds beside him, when Louis and Yakumo landed back on the boat somehow?

—————  
Shiva saw what her two friends did, slamming their attacks on the skull and redirected the collision course underneath the lifeboat.

Timing it right as her position reached the forced redirection, Shiva let go of the Queenslayer, letting it be carried away by the Grimm's body into the water. Instead, she kicked off the Grimm as she let go of the sword and dispersed her right-side Ivy Veil, leaping towards the airborne Louis and Yakumo, both falling face-first towards the sea. She held both her hands out and caught their legs as she flew pass them, dragging her friends with her through the air with momentum, over the lifeboat where she let them go. Rather than turning to see if they landed safely in it, she kept her eyes forward, watching the Grimm's body as it rose from the water while she flew towards it. She was spotting for something.

The flash of reflection immediately caught her sight. Queenslayer was embedded there!

But it was protruding far from her physical reach. Shiva threw the left-side of her Veil at it, forming a Hook at the end. It caught on the handle and she was dragged along for the ride.

The Greater Grimm suddenly sprouted wings! Shiva's eyes widened as the pair of wings flapped. The monstrosity suddenly picked up speed, yanking her by her Veil upwards into the sky. She desperately grabbed onto one of the spikes nearby.

Then it did a sharp one-hundred and eighty-degrees turn downwards, arching its back in a sharp turn.

The aerial maneuver sent the flailing Shiva flying straight up higher into the sky when her hand slipped off the spike she was holding, her extended Veil dragging Queenslayer out of the flesh unintentionally. She was airborne once again, without any support or foothold.

The Greater Grimm turned its head around, Lightning Breath already half-gathered in its opening maw.

Underneath the purifier mask, Shiva clenched her teeth in fury: No way to dodge an instantaneous attack; No way to stop direct line-of-sight from the incoming attack. Her heart went into overdrive for her BOR Parasite to convert Ichor. Slamming her right hand into her chest, she used another Gift.

_‘Feral Tenacity.’_

Shiva pulled her Ivy Veil up with Queenslayer to her left hand, gripping the handle and putting the sword between herself and the Greater Grimm.

It fired.

—————  
Whomever that underdressed woman was did not matter. All May knew was that she was an instant fangirl of the Huntress insane enough to take on the Sea Feilong ON ITS OWN BACK! And that was not even the first thing she did in her unplanned debut!

Long before that, the blue-haired Huntress had literally saved the entire vessel by forcing the Sea Feilong to misfire its own attack, using Burn Dust in an uncanny way as to sending it both burning and homing upwards into its jaw. The Lightning Breath shot towards the ship in a brief flash before it was cut off forcefully, which had gotten the Grimm angry enough as well to forget about the existence of the ferry.

That was when she noticed that the guns had fallen silent. Looking down from the upper deck and to the right, the gun turret had stopped firing as well as tracking. Did the Bridge crew saw what was occurring and stopped firing in case of friendly fire?

The answer came quickly when her scroll rang. "May!" It was Roy. "The Bridge was hit!"

"What?!" She looked to the direction of the bridge, but it was obscured from her position. "What about the crew? The guns?"

"Everyone's fine, miraculously. But the Weapons, Nav and Comms are busted."

It explained why the guns stopped tracking and firing. Dropping the call, May went prone and aimed Nornhowl at the Sea Feilong, just in time to see it eyeing the Huntress on its back. She fired, hitting the Grimm around its protected head instead of the red eye. It was enough to distract the Grimm momentarily for the Huntress to start running.

Over the next moment, May attempted to assist the Huntress. But the Sea Feilong was moving errantly, causing her to miss with her shots until her rifle clicked empty. She reloaded, just as the Sea Feilong started to dive, most likely trying to dislodge the Huntress whom had held onto the Grimm somehow.

The Huntress must have had scattered her arsenal of Burn Dust. Like little sticky tacks, some of it stuck on the back of the Grimm but most of them landed in the water. It seemed like a waste to May for a moment, until the Burn Dust detonated across the surface of the sea. Then May realised that the Huntress was trying to keep it from deep diving under the water.

Due to the little explosions, the Sea Feilong had indeed turned away from the water.

And heading towards the lifeboat.

The lifeboat had turned its way towards the ferry, exposing its broadside towards the Sea Feilong. May could only watch in horror as the Grimm sped towards the vulnerable boat, going in for a fatal collision. It was travelling too fast for her to reliably land her shots, but she pulled the trigger as fast as she could, anyway.

Then she watched the black-haired and red-haired Huntsmen with swords enter her crosshair, weapons poised and struck at the head. Immediately afterwards, her vision was cut off by an explosion of water.

She pulled Nornhowl away, right as another water explosion occurred behind the lifeboat. The Sea Feilong's cracked skull re-emerged from that: The two Huntsmen had simply redirected the monster’s charge, forcing it to go under the boat.

A flash of blue crossed her sight. May saw the Huntress was airborne—She must have leapt to avoid getting dragged underwater. Out of nowhere, she produced and threw a grappling hook skillfully, catching her bronze-coloured sword that stabbed in the Grimm by the handle. And she held on for her life, returning back into the sky.

Then the Sea Feilong finally revealed its wings. They started flapping, increasing its flight speed. Unable to beat the wind pressure, the Huntress could only hang on until an opportunity to attack appear.

But the Grimm suddenly pulled a hard spin in the middle of the air. The Huntress was sent into the sky by the motion, her grappling hook pulling her sword out instead of acting as an anchor. The Grimm charged a Lightning Breath as it turned its head.

_'Shit!'_ May finally took her sniper rifle again, aiming at the Grimm's head.

But the Grimm fired first. The electricity went upwards in a quick flash.

The sky was split by the lightning. Thunder roared across the air. “No!” May cried out, unable to believe how quickly everything had turned around.

The Sea Feilong flapped its wings, the wind gust it caused blew away the smoke.

Miraculously, the Huntress's body remained in one piece. Singed by the attack, her body smoked as she fell back. Her bronze sword was mostly blackened, the middle part visibly melting, but she held onto it.

The Grimm, seeing that the Huntress had not been vapourised, lunged upwards with its maw opened.

Then the Huntress' body vanished.

—————  
Shiva risked using Vanishing Hollow because she could not do anything else in her paralysed state. If her dispersed embers did not escape from the jaws fast enough, she would be reforming with missing body parts.

The BOR parasite knew what she wanted. Her heart beat.

The Gift forced her dispersed ashes to scatter 'upwards' in a controlled manner. With her still falling backwards, that meant she was dropping downwards with increased speed. The Gift activated just fast enough that the Greater Grimm could not react to what the Revenant did to relocate herself: It flew through the empty space she was previously in just a moment after her Gift activated.

But Vanishing Hollow did not push her much further away from her original position. When her parasite-controlled ashes reformed, she was so close to the underside of the Greater Grimm that she immediately brushed by the monster and spun. Then she tumbled along the scales as the Grimm continued to climb up the sky.

Shiva stopped her spinning by slapping her hand on the Grimm’s body, trying to grasp for any holding with her right hand. But the smooth scales was preventing her from grasping any edges. She then attempted to stab the Grimm with Queenslayer, hitting the scales without any penetration. Then twice. On the third stab, the Queenslayer missed completely. On the fourth, she finally found purchase as she pierced through soft skin and tore Grimm flesh.

—————  
"Watch out!" Nolan heard the yell just as Mia tackled him. There was a thud.

Mia got off him, staring at whatever had landed on the lifeboat. Something short, black, deformed and half buried into the lifeboat. It looked like it had melted briefly and resolidified. The wooden board of the boat had even smoked just by contact.

_‘Well, I would have been fine,'_ his Aura would have tanked the damage, _'but I don’t mind this position either…’_

"Oh no." Rin grabbed the black thing and pulled it out to examine it, uncaring if it was superheated before. She looked back up at the Sea Feilong, which had barrel-rolled again. "It's the Queenslayer! It broke!"

As the Grimm started descending once more, Nolan only had a question in mind: How was she going to take its head off now?!

—————  
Shiva had no chance to stop the Grimm from diving anymore. She had to regenerate, or risk dispersal and return to the Goal.

If she could even reform in the Gaol, cut off from the outside world as it is.

So as the regeneration healed, she gripped the melted sword with both hands, took a breath, closed her eyes and braced.

And the Greater Grimm drilled through the water surface.

The sudden change in pressure pulled at her. The melted sword sliced down a bit of flesh and nearly lost its latch to it. Then she felt a change in pressure again. When she felt the wind instead of water, she reopened her eyes.

The tearing damage must have been enough to be felt by the Greater Grimm, which forced it to resurface again. It roared in anguish, twisting in the sky randomly.

Then Shiva felt herself slowing down. The Greater Grimm's body was shrinking rapidly.

She was airborne, once more.

The Greater Grimm felt it as well, for its head had turned upwards and facing her floating body from below her. It opened its jaw, showing off pearly whites painted in front of its dark cavern.

Shiva discarded the broken Slayer and opened her other palm towards the lifeboat. And yelled. "Yakumo!"

—————  
After what Rin had said, Yakumo had been worried about what Shiva could do. They could not drain the creature; Dark Gifts seemed ineffective; Now even her weapon was destroyed.

Then he saw Shiva's movement, just as he heard her yell his name.

He turned his body, holding Oni-Bane out, then twisted and threw it, sending it spinning toward Shiva. Shortly after, the Grimm moved towards Shiva as well.

_'Come on! Make it!'_ Yakumo screamed in his mind.

—————  
The window of opportunity would be extremely close.

She focused her attention to incoming Oni-Bane. She watched the spinning blade closely, judging the speed and rotation. Ichor flooded her senses and her arm as she readied herself to catch it.

Rapidly approaching her at the same time, the Greater Grimm had its mouth opened. With a flap of its wings, it gained speed.

Oni-Bane reached her first. She caught the sword by the hilt and immediately dual-gripped it. Just as the Grimm’s mouth dominated her entire sight.

—————  
The Huntress disappeared into the Sea Feilong's mouth.

But before May could despair from the loss of her new idol, she saw black blood spurted from the back of the Grimm. And continued in a line down the body from the neck.

May could only absorb the sight of the spectacle as the swallowed Huntress refused her fate by tearing the Grimm in twine from within, using her newly acquired weapon from the lifeboat. 

The slice continued to tear through the body as the Huntress went down the body. Until finally, near the lower-end of the Sea Feilong, there was a sudden burst of excess Grimm blood.

And something black and solid flew out with a glint of flash from the sun.

—————  
There was no light, only darkness.

But Shiva was still feeling resistance from Oni-Bane as she went down deeper into the Grimm.

The space was constricting as she dashed downwards, one foot in front of another, stepping on unstable flesh 'ground'. Until her leg stopped in a bend up to her knee and jumped with a final slash.

She cut herself an opening through the Grimm’s back and burst through it.

Behind evaporating smoke of the Grimm's blood, Shiva saw the sunlight.

Reflected off the churning waves of the sea.

And then she slammed into the water.

…

…

A dull rumble woken her.

Below her, countless bubble foam formed a shimmering light show that brightened her world. The foam fell away quickly, taking away the light as it revealed segmented white flat surface that slowly darkened.

Clear, unstable spheres entered her vision, slowly falling down towards the white surface.

She breathed.

Her nose and chest burned. Water filled her body.

Her eyes widened. Hands shot to her neck as she tried to breathe.

No air filled her lungs.

Her body started to struggle, kicking and twisting as her insides burned.

Her vision blurred. Darkened.

She could not feel anything. 2

_And she burst out of the churning sea, thunderclap blasting across the sky and droplets pelting her._

_She sank. The noise dulled._

_She struggled to swim and broke the water's surface again, taking in as large gulps of air as she was vomiting out the liquid. She was so tired. Her stomach burned incessantly. Her lungs burned incessantly. She thrashed, desperate to stay above the water._

_In front of her blurry eyes, she could just make out a shape. A long, glowing triangle._

_She kicked and flailed, doing everything she could to reach the wall— _

_A wave crashed down on her. The sea swallowed her again._

_She stretched her hand out. Her fingers felt something solid and jagged. She held on— _

_The waters retreated. White shapes fluttered around her._

_Her hands were pricked. Her fingers slipped. And she fell— _

_"Fuck off seagulls." She came to at the noise. The pricking stopped. "Hell, they ate a hole in her."_

_"A dead Human?" Another voice sounded. "What's with the ears?"_

_"I think it's a…an animal?" Her heart skipped at the third voice. "I--I don't remember the name?"_

_"Stop fucking dissipating so much then, dumbass. Che. Let's go before the Queen fucking appears."_

_It took all her strength to raise her hand towards the blurry figures._

_"You're still alive?" The first one took her hand and pressed another to her chest. "A heartbeat. Heh, that fixes our problem."_

_"You still harping about that? Silva's policy—"_

_"Fuck him and his policy." The pressure on her chest lifted. "He thinks he can do whatever he wants? Fuck that! This is our find and we're keeping it."_

_"It's a damned animal, man. You want to drink animal blood?"_

_The pressure came back. A dark figure came into her vision. "Blood is blood. And she looks Human enough. If you're so fucking scared, then let me just—"_ 3

**Bang!**

Her eyes widened into focus.

Frowning dark brown orbs were the first thing she saw. It resolved to fit an unfamiliar, dark-skinned face in white slack.

She breathed. The smell entered her mind.

A Human.

A Male Human with his hands on her naked chest.

Her heart beat.

She threw her fist with all her strength.

—————

#### VSV Alluvion

The single gunshot brought the fear back into Mia.

It would be so easy to permanently kill a Revenant. Just a single round, penetrating through the clothes, flesh and ribcage, and a Revenant will simply die.

Nearly unstoppable.

Nearly unbeatable.

But it was Shiva's weak scream that brought terror to her mind. It brought her back to the time at the Cathedral of the Sacred Blood, when they found Shiva's vestige that showed the group the entirely of Operation: Queenslayer. And Shiva had nearly frenzied by the end of it: Her absolute hate and fury bubbled to the surface when Jack killed her.

And now, Shiva was screaming in fear.

"Get away from her!" Louis all but yelled at the seaman that pulled the first gunshot, away from them and out towards the sea as a warning shot. Yakumo had his own gun aimed at the man's heart, anger in his eyes and vocalised from his grinding teeth. "Let us through!" Louis yelled again.

"Shit!" The seaman was indecisive, looking back and forth behind him and to Louis. "Shit!" Luckily for him and Yakumo, the man was still pointing his gun towards the sea.

Behind them, Mia saw the man who was 'resuscitating' Shiva from her drowning experience was hanging over the railing, either unconscious or in much pain from Shiva's retaliation punch. One of his crewmates, trying to stay out of Shiva's reach, went to him and grabbed him by the pants. Likely to keep the man from accidentally falling over and into the sea.

As for Shiva, she was backing away from all of them, pushing herself back against the wall of the ferry and looking around wildly, one hand covering her naked chest because the man had unnecessarily removed her clothing. Her eyes were glowing bright red, instinctively regeneration from her burns and bruises from fighting the Greater Sea Grimm.

Mia understood what he was doing when he was pressing down on Shiva's chest, pushing her lungs to eject the seawater that went inside her. It helped that Shiva herself was vomiting out the water as well when he did that. What she did not understand was why was he putting his mouth on hers?! Mia just felt so violated by these Humans' behaviour.

Finally, Louis decided to just push pass the armed seaman and through the crowd, not caring if he could stop him. Mia quickly followed Louis. Over the yelling and shouting, Mia could hear the heavy footfall of Yakumo's.

_‘And we left Rin by the lifeboat.’_ Mia’s grip on Brodiaea tightened. _‘Please stay safe.’_

"Shiva, we're here!" Louis ran up to her, reaching for her shoulders. "Shiva, its go—"

"No!" Shiva screamed and slapped Louis. He staggered to the side. "Get the fuck away from me, monster!"

She had never seen her being frightened by anything before. "Shiva! It's us!" Mia caught her flailing hand.

She was expecting resistance from Shiva. It felt like she was just holding back someone with less power than Nicola.

"Go away!" Mia caught her other hand that tried to elbow her away.

"Shiva!" Mia shook the scared woman. She was scared as well, for her. "Shiva! Look at me!" Everytime she spoke, she shook her. Gently, but firmly. "It's Mia!"

It seemed to have the desired effect. Shiva's cat-irises shrunk, her eyes stopped shaking, then the scarlet glow dimmed. She gasped, drinking in lungfuls of air and regaining some of her complexion. "M—Mia?"

"Yeah, it's me. Us." Mia turned her head left and right quickly, gesturing towards Louis and Yakumo—whose back was to them and watching the sailors.

Louis was simply looking away.

"Mia…Louis…Yakumo…" Shiva called them out, taking breaths for each time when she did. Then she just collapsed on Mia with relief, head pressed onto her shoulder. Mia let her hands slipped and Shiva held tightly onto her.

"It's okay. It's okay." Mia hugged her back. "It's going to be okay."

_'But will it really be?'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only realised that I seemed to have repeated the action via different perspectives when I was editing. Huh…Not sure if that’s fine or a weird way of writing. Hhmm.
> 
> 1 This technically isn't a thing/canon in RWBY, but I decided to make it so that the Sea Feilong can't just kept blasting Lightning Breaths back-to-back continuously, like a machine gun. While it seems to do so here, its first breath attack (last chapter) was near-instantaneously charged and fired, which was blocked by two staggered Foulblood Barriers (Shiva and Yakumo). This breath needed to charge overtime due to it trying to fire it back-to-back.
> 
> 2 If you didn’t read the Edited sections, I edited Chapter 2 to foreshadow the Protagonist having some memories due to an event in Louis' Flashback section.
> 
> 2 I was debating if I should have written a blurry CPR section instead of a blurry/dreamy Flashback section. I still don’t know, even after writing the latter. Maybe I’ll know if it was the right idea when I go further and have Protagonist show how she found her memory.
> 
> The next chapter will be the longest chapter yet, bringing an end to the First Arc of this fanfic. I’ll then either have an Intermission chapter that shows what the people in Gaol of the Mist ‘Vein’ are doing before break, or just take a break. It’s going to be December break by the time I post the next chapter anyway.
> 
> —————  
Gifts (Spell/Skill list)  
**Blood Awakening (Communal Gift - Mia)**: Reduces Ichor Cost and enhances Gifts, but lowers attack power.  
**Ember Reversal**: Fires a flaming projectile that arcs to cover the user’s rear.  
**Shifting Hollow**: Dash forward in mist form.  
**Shadow Assault**: Perform a fast, short-range charge. (Forward spin-slash attack)  
**Rose Flame**: Scatters fire bombs that explode after a short time, damaging anything in the area.  
**Reckless Abandon (Communal Gift - Louis)**: Increases attack and alters evasive movements, at the cost of damage reduction.  
**Lupinus Vita (Communal Gift - Yakumo)**: Increases attack, but reduces guard stamina usage and dodge speed. (This Gift has a really weird opposite-style of description in-game. Decided to paraphrase it and ‘right’ it)  
**Feral Tenacity**: Receiving fatal damage when your HP is over a certain amount will leave you with 1 HP.


	7. Vein 07 - Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor edits in Chapter 6: Some Words.
> 
> —————  
I wrote this chapter in Wordpad then transferred here, instead of Google Doc for the previous chapters (internet connection issue). I might have missed a few mistakes.

### Vein 07 - Memories

#### VSV Alluvion, en route to Vale Port, Sanus

A shower. Mia forgotten how much she missed an honest-to-god, water pumped, temperature-changeable shower.

Hot showers. Hot showers were the best. And the fragranced soap as well. The bubbles drew her attention more than she was willing to admit.

She had no idea of the length of time she stayed under the showerhead, letting it rinse her entire self until she could feel her wrinkled fingers. But when the water started to turn cold, she sighed and turned the water off. She had her head down, looking at the floor tiles as the water drained away, her hair cascading down her shoulder and water dripped from the strands, her mind wandering...

The whole scene was just a misunderstood debacle. One that, lucky for them, was understood and forgiven by the crew, thanks to Officer Rusty.

Having very few accessibility to large bodies of water in the Gaol, as well as the _‘convenient’_ method of regeneration available to the Revenants, the method to save a drowning victim was lost to them. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR for short, was a skill used for restarting an unbeating heart, involving blowing air into the unconscious person's body and compressing the chest. Even before that, the one doing the resuscitation was recommended to blow air into the body several times to encourage the drowned victim to eject all the water from within.

To perform CPR with as little complication as possible, they had to remove the collar and her clothing to allow her chest, breathing tube and lungs to expand to its maximum.

As it was not the first time to have had happened, they had expected some form of confused retaliation from Shiva when she woke and stay awake. They had not expected for the moment of craze and rejection from her.

In the end, the poor man who both saved and resuscitated Shiva had been the only one injured by her friend. Luckily, he was merely bruised and knocked unconscious. Shiva was physically exhausted from her near death (or dispersal, for the Revenants) and could not have done more damage.

When Mia felt a chill, she finally dragged her unwilling self out of the shower and dried herself with a given towel. After replacing the soap, she stepped back into the changing room and donned a prepared bathrobe.

No one else was in the room, but the water was still running in the shower next to hers. After placing the used towel in the laundry basket, Mia took a seat and fiddled with the bathrobe as she waited for Shiva. It was a featureless white robe, one that the business company the ferry's crew worked for had prepared for public use. Long sleeved, long enough to reach the ankles and a cloth belt to pull tight around the waist. Her dress and Shiva's clothing were taken to be washed (and fixed, in the case of Shiva's top), while their Blood Veils remained in the room they were sharing together with Rin. The Veils, which doubled as body armour, required special maintenance for cleaning.

_''Cabin.' Midori called it 'Cabin.' Isn't that supposed to be a house? Hm.'_

After the lifeboat had been hoisted back onto the ferry, Rin took her backpack and asked to use the ferry's armoury. She had not even thought about cleaning herself up or resting after the harrowing journey just outside their home. She just wanted to repair the broken Queenslayer, so Shiva could go with a weapon. The grateful Captain Garlet had let Rin to it and she took the melted and broken sword with her. If anyone could fix it, it was Rin.

Yakumo and Louis had done the same as Mia and Shiva, heading for the showers next to the women's side. But they had to be long done by now: The men were usually the last to enter the hot spring back at Home Base, then the first to leave after their soak.

_'What's taking her?'_ Mia looked to the stall that Shiva was using, then looked around the changing room.

After another minute of waiting, Mia was contemplating if she should check on Shiva. The water must be completely cold by now. It sounded like Shiva was simply letting the water wash over her, as there had been no change in the pitch and volume of the running liquid.

Half a minute later, Mia got up from her seat and stood next to the stall. "Shiva?" She called out. "Are you fine?"

Moments later, the water shut off. There was no other sound for another few seconds. "…Yeah." Shiva replied. There was a ruffle.

Mia went back to her seat, knowing that Shiva was drying herself. She longed for a cup of tea in her hand suddenly. Maybe she could request one from the cook? She kicked her leg and let it swing.

The stall's door was finally opened. Shiva stepped out, both arms wrapped loosely in wet bandages and an identical towel held in one hand. She looked listless, ignoring the dripping strip of cloth on her arms. Seemingly not noticing Mia was in the room, she strolled across the room to the laundry basket and dropped the towel in. The wet cloth on her right arm unravelled unintentionally, slipping onto the ground before Shiva was able to catch the tail end of it.

Cut scars and bite marks lined the exposed arm, no longer healed by regeneration as she had them before her Revenanification. There were several around her neck and shoulder as well, normally hidden by her mask frame. There was also a large patch of scar on the left of her chest, near her heart. _'Jack did that.'_ Mia recalled Operation Queenslayer, but something felt…_off_. Mia could not quite put her thought to it.

Shiva stared at the fallen bandage, before bending down to grab it. Painstakingly, she rewrapped it around the exposed arm. She never liked displaying those scars. The one time Mia caught Shiva in the hot spring and saw the scars on her arms, she had asked about it.

_"I don't remember."_ Was the answer she received. She never doubted it. Shiva simply did not like her marred body and kept the opera gloves on as much as possible. Mia had reevaluated her own question after knowing Eva further and learning of her past when she was a Blood Slave to other Revenants.

"Shiva?" Mia finally opened her mouth.

The woman was visibly surprised. _'She really didn't notice I'm still here.'_ Shiva turned around to look at Mia, searching for something on her face. Mia then lifted up another bathrobe to Shiva, who nodded in thanks, took it and donned it. After that, she headed for the exit.

Mia stood to follow. "Are you alright?"

Shiva stopped by the door. She had her left hand on the wall, next to the knob. "…Yeah."

Mia put a hand on Shiva's other arm. "You know I'm here." Mia wondered if she recalled any of her lost memories. It would explain her reaction. "So is Louis, Yakumo and Rin."

"…Yeah." Shiva sighed, then opened the door.

—————  
They had the cabin next door to the girls, so it was easy to hear them when they had finally returned from their well-deserved shower. Louis, still in the provided bathrobe as his clothes were taken to wash, waited for the shuffling to be over and hearing the creaks of one of the beds. Taking his Blood Veil with him, he headed over and knocked on their door. "Shiva? Mia? It's Louis."

The bed creaked again. A bathrobe-cladded Mia answered the door. "Come on in."

The cabin was the exact copy of the room Yakumo and himself are sharing: A long rectangle; Two sets of bunk beds occupying the walls; Four cabinets by the end of each bed stacked on each other, one for each occupant to place folded clothes inside; A single writing desk with a stool with three drawers sat at the end of the room; A porthole window above the desk that was open, curtains opened, letting in the salty smell of the sea; And finally two bright light bulbs that were built into the ceiling. They were given two crew cabins, on the account that the Alluvion's guest cabins had been fully booked by passengers heading towards the 'Kingdom of Vale' for a 'Vytal Festival.'

While he waited in his cabin, Louis had read a map available on the ferry, skimming for information and learned some of the materials: Such as 'Grimm' had two 'M's when it was written. And 'Vytal' had 'Y' replacing the 'I' for the word; The three inhabited continents of Anima, Solitas (where Mantle was) and Sanus (the continent they were heading to) as well as Metus, the name of the continent where the Gaol was located; And that Mantle, the Kingdom they were looking for, had been replaced by the Kingdom of Atlas, which was a city further inland of Solitas.

"Where is Yakumo?" Mia asked as she sat down on the lower left bunk bed. Despite her smaller stature, it had too little headroom and she had to lean forward, hands placed on her knees as support and rest.

Shiva, also in a bathrobe, sat on the writing desk, looking out to sea through the porthole when he had entered, caressing the Amber Blood Bead. Now she was looking at him when Mia questioned him.

"He went to find Rin." Shiva nodded at his reply. He gestured back. "How are you holding up?"

She looked down to the Amber. "Fine."

He had to tread lightly with Shiva. It was the first time anyone had seen her lost it like that. He had no idea how to approach her and she was not one to simply share her thoughts. "We're here for you, Shiva."

That might have been the wrong thing to say, seeing how she tensed up and turned away. Her fingers clenched the Amber. "…Yeah."

"So!" Mia clapped her hands, trying to divert the topic. "We have found people, alive and well out here." She turned from Shiva—who looked up at her—to Louis. "What should we do now? Do we still look for Mantle?"

Louis decided to start from her question. "Mantle, while it still exists as Dominic remembers, is no longer the capital that we were originally looking for. It had been renamed to 'Atlas' after all of their technological advances during the years we were inside of the Gaol. Mantle may be the direction we were heading towards as our goal, but the main idea was to find signs of Life outside of the Gaol, which we have both found and made contact with. Captain Garlet has graciously offered us lodging and transport to the 'Kingdom of Vale,' located on Sanus Continent, which is the land we can see on the starboard side of the ship. We'll find the government and see if—"

A series of knocks on the door interrupted him. "Is anyone in there?" It was Yakumo. "I got Rin with me and two more." Louis looked to Mia and Shiva, whom both nodded, so he opened it. "Yo!" Yakumo greeted with a wave.

His best friend had taken to wearing the sailors' sleeveless vest and pants, which were spare clothing offered by Officer Rusty. The white-coloured clothing fit his physique well, though the bathrobe he still wore on top of them that felt out of place, especially when he was wearing it while going out to the public areas.

Rin, having headed for the ferry's armoury immediately after getting onboard, was still dressed in her own gears. The lack of a backpack and their weapons meant that she left them back at the armoury, except for the large pouch she was holding on to her chest with both arms, which Louis recognised it as the pouch that held the Blood Beads. She had her head tilted slightly with her eyes closed, a greeting only she used since she always wore her purifier mask and she had to express her emotions through different means.

Louis easily recognised Nolan Porifirio's light skin with reddening face and dark red hair, though he was missing his jacket. Next to him was a tanned girl about Mia's height in a black beanie cap pulled down over her left eye, with strands of her off-coloured red hair falling from the side and back. She wore a black scarf over a red-and-white striped jacket and long blue pants. The girl was also holding a notebook and a pen, with her lips twitching as if she was trying to hold back a larger smile that her current one.

It was going to be a tight fit inside the small cabin. "Come on in, everyone." Louis further opened the door.

Yakumo let Rin entered first, while both the teenagers stayed outside. "Shiva! I heard from Yakumo what happened! How are you?" She stepped up to Shiva.

Shiva gave Rin a firm nod, then gestured back at her.

"Not good, truth be told." Rin sighed. "I can't do much without a proper workstation. And there are also another issue...I need to talk to you later about it, Shiva." She nodded in reply. "Alright!" Rin turned to Mia, expressed her way of smiling, then to Louis, passing the pouch of Blood Beads to him. "I'm going to grab a shower. They said they want to see all of us later for something. Team Bronze will be able to explain more."

"Okay." Louis let Rin go. Once she left, Yakumo let the girl in first before Nolan and himself, then closed the door. He laid the pouch on the bed next to him. "So what is this about, Mr. Porfirio?"

While the girl seemed to be vibrate while looking towards Shiva, Nolan snorted. "Just call me Nolan, sir." He nodded. "Well, first!" He flourished his hands to introduce the girl. "May Zedong, our team's Sniper, somehow became Lady Shiva's biggest fangirl during her fight against the Sea Feilong and now she wants an autograph from her."

While Yakumo laughed and Mia giggled, Louis and Shiva blinked. "What?" Shiva asked.

"Lady Shiva! Er..." May dithered for a quick moment, then she raised her notepad and pen towards the person she was addressing. "Please, may I have your autograph!"

"...what?" Shiva tilted her head by that request, then turned in Louis with a confused look and a shrug.

"An autograph is a signature you give to people who looked up to you." Louis explained to her, then to May who also turned to him when he spoke. "Did Mr. Porfirio—Nolan tell you that we aren't the Huntsmen that you think we are?"

"Yup. It doesn't change the fact that you guys are so cool out there, though." May grinned sheepishly. "Both you and Sir Yakumo held the Sea Feilong at bay and saved my idiot teammates." At that, she glared and growled at Nolan, who muttered an apology in return. He likely was missing certain context. "And there's the level of teamwork that three of you displayed without any communications. Seeing a fellow Marksman is always cool," May nodded to Mia, "but Lady Shiva jumping onto the Grimm and fought it on its back is just…way next level! So unbelievably awesome!"

"I…see." Louis simply had no comment. Yakumo just laughed.

Under May's eager eyes, Shiva finally set aside the Amber and took the girl's notepad and pen. She opened to the first page, then stared. "…where?"

May pointed. "Here, please!" And thus, Shiva wrote something in it before giving it back to the girl. "Yes! Thank you!" Then, as she kept the notepad away, she was looking to the desk, at the Amber Blood Bead. "What's this jewelry? It looks pretty."

Louis panicked, wondering how were they to explain what a Blood Bead was, when Shiva took it in hand. Moonlight shining on it reflected off the Bead and dazzled the cabin occupants with a quick lightshow. "Memento from a friend." May studied the Amber for as long as she was allowed, before Shiva kept it away.

_'It's a good thing the Amber does not look like a normal Blood Bead.'_ He would not be able to explain the contents of a Bead to them without the whole thing being weird for the non-Revenants, if they question about it. Louis turned to Nolan. "So, about what Rin said earlier."

Nolan cleared his throat. "Right. Captain Garlet is requesting for all of you to join us in the dining hall in an hour's time."

"Did she say why?" Louis asked.

Nolan shook his head in negative. "Nope, but I'm guessing it's going to be some sort of feast as thanks for slaying the Sea Feilong and saving everyone's hides. The ferry wouldn't have been able to repel it, much less killing it."

"We don't really..." That sounded ungrateful.

Nolan smirked with his hands up in mock surrender. "It's the Captain's idea. We're really just here to let you guys know about it. You might want to bring it up to her instead."

Louis nodded. "Thank you for letting us know."

"Anything for our saviours." Nolan gave him a thumbs up, then looked to May, pointed back with the same thumb while head tilting. "Come on May, let's go get the others."

Once the teenagers left the cabin, Yakumo took a seat next to Mia and focused his attention at Louis. "So, what's our next plan?"

"We were just talking about it, Yakumo." He replied. "Mantle's government had been replaced by the Kingdom of Atlas. Our original plan was to contact Mantle, but the general idea was to contact anyone outside of the Gaol. Since we are now heading towards the Kingdom of Vale, we will instead talk to the leaders of Vale and hopefully find a means for us to help everyone back home."

"Garlet." Shiva said. "Ask her?"

Louis agreed with her. "I'll talk to her when we see her later."

With their immediate plan made, Louis and Yakumo returned to their own cabin to wait. Yakumo took the lower bed on the left, lying back and closed his eyes. Louis checked out two books on the desk. The first book, its title 'The Four Maidens,' had a cover picture of four women in various colouring that reminded him of a children's book. He set the book down and picked up another book. 'The Two Brothers' was an enticing title, but after skimming the first page Louis also set it aside: He had no interest in a religion-themed book. Seeing that there were no other books, Louis took the map and studied it again, though there was nothing else he had not seen from it.

There was some noise from the girls' cabin. Louis assumed that Rin had returned. A look at the clock told him that they were about fifteen minutes away from meeting the Captain at the dining hall. So he woke Yakumo, put on his Blood Veil, as had Yakumo, then waited in the hallway for the girls. Not long after that, the three girls exited from their cabin and joined them, all of them sporting their Veils as well.

It was their only self-defense equipment that they could carry without arousing suspicion.

Following the signs, Louis led them towards the dining hall, in the heart of the lower deck. It was a large, flat-cube feasting hall that was nearly filled up with occupants, with a stage that the officer crews were congregating at, discussing something among themselves. Almost immediately after stepping into the dining hall, Officer Rusty spotted them and waved at them.

His action attracted others at the tables to look, turning their heads to the Revenants. It took a minute for the noisy hall to fall into silence and for everyone to look at them. Louis sweated and took a step back.

It was the pressure from so many unfamiliar eyes, peering right at him.

And the smell. Not from the various cooked morsels that were already laid on the tables and feasted by them.

It was the heavy scent of Humans, so dense due to the many bodies in one tiny room, closed off room. He had not even notice it until now, standing at the edge of the crowd and looking at the sight. He backed up into something soft.

When was the last time he had a _drink_ from a Blood Bead? He could not recall. And he had not been holding back by much degree when they fought the Horrors, burning through his ichor reserves before they learned of the Horrors' undrainable blood. He did not have a drop of it because he had not needed it. But now the severe scent of fresh blood was overpo--

Someone grabbed him by his chest and pulled him back, dragging him away from them. "Go on." He heard her say, then faces passed by his sight before going out of the door, which was slammed shut.

—————  
The entire room was watching the awkward reaction by Mr. Amamiya, before Lady Shiva threw a hand over his body and dragged the man out of the hall. At first, the other three companions were worried, but Rusty's grabbed their attention and brought them to the front.

"What was that about?" Nolan took a sip of soda.

"What else could it be?" Nolan turned to Roy, who was grinning while looking at his direction. "It's gonna be for some 'stress relief.'" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Nolan caught the meaning and laughed.

Unfortunately, Roy's comment also caught the attention of their two other teammates. Brawnz sighed, while May shot to her feet, walked behind the two, raised her fists and gave them noogies. "Yewouch!"

"Stop being so vulgar!" May growled.

"Yes ma'am!" They wisely replied.

—————  
He was taken to a room, shut and locked with whomever had taken him, before he was pushed to the wall and he slid to the ground. A moment later, something yellowish and soft was pushed into his mouth, a sweet scent of lavender and liquidy, coppery taste. "Drink."

The taste of blood overpowered his rationality. He drank, his tongue lapping up the slow flowing liquid from the tube. Just twice, before his mind cleared and realised what he was doing and nearly done. He pushed the arm away and looked up to see Shiva looking back at him. He palmed his forehead in frustration. _'I nearly lost control.'_

"All good?"

"Yeah, I think." Louis slowly pushed himself back up.

It was not unheard of for a Revenant to drink blood from another Revenant to remain sane. Rin had let Shiva drink from her only just recently, and Ichor Blends existed specifically for that reason, though Blend-versions were mixed with the blood of the Lost to prevent severe addiction to a single source.

And it seemed to be what Shiva was making now, taking a vial of ichor concentration and stabbing her bleeding wrist with it to draw her own blood into it, mixing the contents together into an improvised Blend. She took a look at the mix, then offered it to Louis. "Should be fine." 

Louis took the improvised Blend. "Thank you." Activating his Veil's absorption mask, he drained the content and immediately felt better.

Seeing that, Shiva regenerated, blood boiling from her wrist, before she wiped the remaining with her Veil, draining them. "Ready?"

He kept away the emptied vial and sighed. "As much as I can be." Shiva nodded.

It seemed that the crew had not exactly waited for Shiva and himself, having reentered the dining hall in the middle of a speech by a scarlet-haired woman. The three bars embossed on her shoulder told him that it was the Captain herself, Garlet. "—evening. So we'll reach Vale Port by another day, in the late afternoon by the latest. We apologise for the inconvenience."

_'Inconvenience? Seriously?'_ Most of the people in the hall laughed, some yelled back, but the general atmosphere was a relief in stress. Everyone understood just how close to death they had been and, now that the danger had passed, was releasing it in some way.

Louis felt a poke. "Feeling alright?" Shiva asked, concerned.

The heavy scent of Humans had not pass, but now there was also an odd mix of non-human scent that he could not identify. "Yeah." He nodded. He was in control.

"And now, the hero that saved us from a watery grave! Huntress Shiva!" Captain Garlet flourished in the direction of the two of them.

She was taken aback. "What!" And the crowd went wild with claps and whistles.

Then it quickly died down, in a sudden and confusing manner, until about less than half of them continued on the cheer for a moment more. Instead, murmuring had started up.

_"A Faunus?" "Wait, is she joking?" "…a mistake?" "Shh, quiet, it'll hear..."_ Some of the words came from the tables nearby them, with the speakers turning away from the two of them. Louis frowned, wondering what was it about? _'And what is a Faunus?'_ He could see the diners started glaring at each other from tables to tables. Idly, he noticed the animal features at the ones glaring, whom were mostly the people that had continued the cheer as well.

"Psst," the seaman behind them whispered to Shiva, though Louis could hear it, "don't worry about, ya! Just go ta de Cap'n, ya don't hafta say nothin' to them." Shiva nodded and marched to Garlet. Louis joined his friends, standing behind Rusty and a green-haired man with a First-Mate rank. Louis recalled the name 'Midori.'

As Captain Garlet strained herself to spin a tale of heroism to the crowd that seemed to bear a grudge towards Shiva, Rin leaned towards Louis. "What was that about? Everyone seemed to have gone weird when Garlet waved to Shiva."

Mia was frowning, doing that 'Thinking Pose' herself. "I recall that Officer Rusty called Shiva a 'Cat Faunus,' back on the lifeboat." She looked to Shiva intently, who was bearing the brunt of the stares while politely waiting beside Garlet. "Shiva...She always had those cat ears, didn't she? And it isn't just some accessories?"

Louis had only met Shiva for the first time in the Ruined City, in the underground depths where he was tracking the Bloodspring. "When I saw her for the first time, she already had them." He turned to Mia. "You think those are what made her what they called her? A 'Faunus?'"

Yakumo piped in. "She already had them back in Operation: Queenslayer." Of course, Louis recalled the trip down Shiva's vestige back at the Cathedral.

"Why even call someone a 'Faunus' like its a derogatory term?" Rin said. "It doesn't even make sense! Animals were always known to have better senses than Humans. If anything, that just made Shiva that much better!"

It certainly explained some of the stuff that she could do and did, such as spotting and hearing Losts hiding in places or pretending to be dead, seeing so well in the dark to spot that camouflaging Grimm at the ruined apartment and even see the ferry so far out in the sea. Cats have great night-vision, though how she had spotted the ferry was a mystery, since cats were known to have shortsightedness. _'Maybe the benefits of an Animal combines with that of a Human's? So being a Cat Faunus meant she have the visual clarity of a Human and the sharpness of a Cat? How does it work?’_

Yakumo inhaled noisy, bringing Louis back to focus and noticing he missed something. "—doesn't matter. Faunus or not, she's our friend! Nothing's going to change that."

Mia and Rin looked towards each other, Yakumo then Louis, giving them a firm nod.

"Ya done discussin'?" The same seaman from the door surprised them. Louis only realised that he was an older man, not quite elderly yet, but he could probably trade stories with Davis or Silva. He gave each of them a _look_, grinned, then nodded. "Gud da know that, ya know?" He pointed to a table, where the officer crew and Shiva were standing. "Dey be done hypin' the tuff crowd. Go join yer friend." Nodding with thanks to the seaman, Louis and the others headed towards the group. Yakumo let out a whistle as they approached.

"Woah, now that's a feast!"

The round table was filled with dishes: Morsels in gravies that were still steaming; Prepared greens that had been done to perfection; Various fresh fruits cut and kept chilled in plates with ice; And glasses that had already been filled with a wine of some kind, its bottle not visible on the table. Louis had not seen so much food since becoming a Revenant and, in honesty, seeing the feast after such a long time was making his mouth watering… 

"We…can't accept this." Said Shiva. Louis agreed, reining his desire— 

"Shiva." Mia said. "You're drooling."

Louis blinked and looked to Shiva who…actually was drooling as she sucked in her saliva and wiped her mouth with a sleeve. "Nope." She denied it.

_'Maybe if I…'_ He elbowed her on her arm. "It's rude to say no—"

"Then I'll have this fish." Shiva cut him off while magically had the large, steaming plate of carp in her hands.

"Oie!" Yakumo mock-raged. Shiva's expression dropped. "What about the rest of us—"

Shiva actually hissed at Yakumo as she stepped away from him. "Mine." She pulled the stewed fish further away. "Find your own."

"Aww! But I want it too!" Rin stepped up beside Shiva. The Cat-Woman looked from Rin to the dish, then to Rin, then repeated looking between them, before it became a smooth motion of 'No.'

Louis sighed. _'So much for friendship. Broken over food that we don't even need.'_ While around them, the ferry's crew were simply laughing at their antics. Louis turned to Captain Garlet, wanting to talk about their current problem, but first. "Thank you for this."

Captain Garlet waved it off. "_We_ should be thanking you instead, saving us from that Sea Feilong. This route never had a Grimm like this before. Sea Feilongs tend to hang out in much more open oceans. You and yours being at the right place at the right time was to our fortune." She gestured to the table, where his friends had already taken their seats, though they were still having fun and making jokes. "We don't really have anything else much other than food to offer, though."

"It's more than enough." He simply could not tell them that Revenants did not need to eat, period. Especially with the kind of reception that the normal civilians had displayed. He had no idea just how they would react to undying beings like themselves sustained themselves by drinking blood, not substances. He should just change the subject now. "This 'Kingdom of Vale,' do you know how we could contact the government leaders? We still have people trapped on Metus Continent and our objective was to find help."

Garlet nodded. "Asking the police officers in Vale is probably the fastest way to get a direction there, or a map from the shops." She shook her head lightly. "I won't be able to help you beyond that. My job doesn't extend to making contacts with the head of government."

"It's better than what we have. Thank you very much, Captain Garlet, for picking and taking us along." The good Captain and Louis shared a handshake.

"As I said earlier, when both you and Shiva were gone for…stress relieve." She winked. Louis missed the context at first, but then he frowned… 

_'Did they know about the Blood draining? How do I explain it? No way that a normal person will—'_

Garlet's laughter cut his thoughts off. "Young, serious ones like you are always the best to tease. But hey, you got a good catch, aye?" Then she proceeded to elbow him playfully.

_'...what exactly is she talking about?'_ Because it sure did not sound like Blood draining.

Seeing that she would not be getting the response she was expecting, she stopped her spontaneous laughter and sighed, then continued. "Anyway, our ferry's navigation system took a hit, so we're sailing somewhat blinded. It's still just a straight shot from here to Vale, but we're taking it a little easier since we can't follow the planned route. We'll reach Vale by the following day."

Louis nodded in appreciation. "I understand."

"Until then, feel free to use any amenities available on the ship. I've made sure the crew knew that you and yours have permission for them. Miss Murasame was certainly using our armoury to its fullest, though it still isn't much for her work."

"Thank you."

Captain Garlet nodded, counting something under her breath. "That's all, I believe. Now, lets eat and enjoy the rest of the night! If you need to find me, I'll be at the Bridge."

"Got it."

The Captain finally left him to his device and headed out of the dining hall. She was probably having her dinner with her crew elsewhere on the ferry. Louis exhaled, exhausted with everything, then turned to the table his friends were at. They still seemed to have things to have fun and joke about, not yet touching any of the food. Except Shiva, who was prodding her carp with a finger.

They were close to what they had set out on their mission to do—Finding civilisation and getting help. Only four days had elapsed since leaving the Gaol which, when Louis thought about it, was a surprisingly short amount of time. _'We've learned many things, though. And a lot more mystery.'_ What correlation did the Great Collapse and the Great War had? Why did they call the 'Grimm' as 'Horrors?' And how would the outside world react to Revenants as a whole?

Questions for the future when he have more data.

For now, as the good Captain had said, it was time to enjoy the rest of the night. And celebrate their good fortune thus far.

—————  
**"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Yukihime and I will be your impromptu deejay for the rest of your journey to Vale. Due to the Grimm's attack, we no longer have the public radio stations available until repairs are made. Until then, please sit back, relax and enjoy the music library I shall be sharing. And for the Readers, please enjoy reading this word dump.**

**As it is getting late, allow me to share with you an album of jazz music. It was recorded 'LIVE at Grillby's,' played by the artist 'insaneintherainmusic.' Have a good evening and sweet dreams for our passengers.**  
\----------  
The door was locked, as it should for security. After rapping it with a knuckle and waiting, Rin answered it. "Ah! Shiva, you're here." She nodded, then was let in by the Armourer.

Jazz music playing from the announcement system was the first thing Shiva heard upon entering the Armoury, then the grunts of the other occupant—a black-skinned bald seaman—who was scrutinising Oni-Bane. She did not recall when she lost Yakumo's weapon. She assumed that the rescuer must have had pried it out of her hand when she was unconscious.

That reminded her, she should apologise to the sailor who resuscitated her. She still felt bad hitting the poor guy while she was delirious while he was saving her.

The room itself was lined with racks and holders, the former carrying clear cases of ammunitions in front and metal boxes behind them. The latter held a mix of ranged and melee weapons, all of them sorted and arranged according to their types and locked behind glass windows. The entrance was divided from the main portion of the room by a service table bolted to the floor, leaving only a small path to enter the room. Immediately behind the service table, occupying the middle of the room, were several workbenches arranged two-by-two.

Rin's backpack was at the end of the tables on the floor. On the two tables were slabs of forging metals that she used in Home Base. And a familiar red-and-black short blade. At the back of the room, locked away from the room by additional bars from ceiling to floor, were crates labelled 'Explosives, Handle With Care' and a picture of a snowflake on the side.

While Rin got around the service table, Shiva stayed outside to wait for permission from the ferry's muniton officer. But he was busy checking out Yakumo's sword and ignored both of them. Rin picked by the short blade and approached Shiva, laying it on the table. She sighed.

"This is all that's left of Queenslayer." She said sadly. "I'm sorry."

A partially melted and broken blade. All that remained after Shiva used it to defend against the Lightning Blast. She recalled that she tossed the hilt away in a random direction to free her hand for using Oni-Bane. It must be at the bottom of the sea now. Though Shiva never put much stock into a specific weapon--especially since Queenslayer was a literal mass-produced basic equipment for the Revenants back during Operation: Queenslayer—this one sword had survived countless battles in her hands by her side, all the way from the Operation until now. She took the broken blade in her hand.

"I won't be able to rebuild it here." This was just a weapon storage room, so Shiva understood. "And even then, it likely won't feel the same to you if I did. Louis is right, too: We need to update our equipment for fighting Grimm. Especially since we can't drain them for the ichor functions." Rin whispered the last part.

It felt like she had lost a friend, even though it was just a mass produced sword. "Thank you, Rin." She tucked the blade in her bathrobe.

"Captain Garlet had actually given us permission to take a weapon from here for you to use it." Rin nodded to the Melee-weapons section. "That's why I needed you to come here, for it as well as to pick something."

It was a nice gesture. Unfortunately, none of the weapons available caught her fancy. In the end, Shiva simply point at a random sword.

Even Rin could see that she was just reluctantly picking one. She pat Shiva's arm and smiled. "Once we contact someone outside and go back to Home Base, I'll make something for you."

Shiva nodded in appreciation. "Thanks, Rin."

—————  
**”Good morning everyone, the time now is seven thirteen A.M.. Current temperature is thirty one degree celsius. And the current word count is 6500, including formatting text boxes. Breakfast is available in the dining hall for all of you early risers. We are still on our way merry way to Vale with no issues in sight. Please sit back and enjoy the ride.**

**If you're still refusing to get off the bed and imagine the salty sea in your nose, then I recommend the 'JT Music' channel for some awesome rap music. This next music playing is called 'Undead Lullaby' and it is with regards to a title that attracted little old me, which then got me interested in the Code. This has been Yukihime, have a great day ahead!”**  
\----------  
At the observation deck, Shiva found Mia and May with their respective weapons in the other's hands. Both Mia and herself were back in their own wears since they found their washed clothing placed outside their cabin in the morning, but Mia had left her Veil behind and hat behind. When she approached Mia and May, she could hear the two snipers discussing about the finer points of sniping.

_'Hmm, I can go for some candies...'_

Mia was the first to see her, since she was approaching from behind May. "Hey Shiva." She greeted.

"Lady Shiva!" May turned around, a little bit too rapidly, to greet her. She blushed when she saw her.

Shiva returned the greeting with a wave.

"We were just talking about our weapons." Mia started. "It's very interesting how modern weapons had adapted Melee weapons into their Range weapon."

"It-it's not very good." May stuttered. "I mean, Nornhowl basically just had part of the barrel replaced with a blade for me to use it as an axe, in case I had to go into close range combat." She scratched her covered eye. "And I'm not very good at close combat."

Shiva patted her on the shoulder.

"It is still a great way of incorporating it into your main arsenal." Mia praised, then gestured to the bayonet in May's hand. "Brodiaea just had a blade attached to the front of it. I can't count the number of times Losts had parried my swings from the barrel and left me vulnerable." Mia tapped her chin with a finger. "If Brodiaea could have one of those transformation mechanisms like you said earlier, maybe I can fix that little problem."

"Durability would be an issue though." May lifted a finger. "It's infamously known that transformative weapons tend to break at the most inconvenient of moments, most of them due to the small parts within the mechanics. So you will have to perform maintenance every couple of uses to make sure everything works right."

"Say, Shiva. What do you think about it?" Mia suddenly asked. "Should I try and change Brodiaea?"

Shiva shrugged. "Louis wants us to upgrade." Then she took out the broken blade. "Need to replace too."

Mia reached for the broken blade. Shiva let her take it. "What will you do for now?"

Shiva shrugged again. The curved sword she picked was still locked away in the Armoury. "Captain offered. Took a Cutlass for now."

"I'm sure there are weapon shops in Vale City where we can get something for you, Lady Shiva." May suggested. "We can check them out tomorrow when we finally get off this boat."

Shiva nodded. "Thank you."

—————  
**”Good afternoon, listeners and readers and welcome back to the Yukihime Section. If you plan to stay outside on the Observation Deck, be sure to bring sunscreen with you! It is cloudless today and the burning star one and a half hundred million kilometres away is bearing down on us directly. Just two more sections to go and we will finally reach Vale!**

**If you haven't noticed, we are actually within Vale's CCTS range now, so you can now use your Scrolls again to call your loved ones or business partners about the whole Grimm incident, pun intended. Otherwise, you can turn on the radio for your own musical entertainment than from my Music Library.**

**But if still want to hear something from me, here's a bit of 'A Thousand Eyes' by the artist 'Miracle of Sound.' Complete awesome!”**

—————  
Shiva found Louis in his cabin. "Come on in Shiva." He opened the door and let her in, before he returned to the desk, where a book that laid opened told her what he was doing. There was an empty Bead on the table as well. She closed the door. "Doing a round of social visit, I'm assuming?" Louis turned the chair around so he could take a seat facing her. "You enjoyed doing so whenever we took a break back home."

Shiva would not deny that. She reached into her pouch and retrieved an aluminium foil package with contents rattling within, a bold, cursive MnM was printed on it. She tossed it to Louis. "Enjoy."

"What's this?" Louis read the label. "Chocolate candies?" Shiva nodded. "Thank you, I will enjoy this." He placed the gift aside on the table and took the book, showing the title to her. "I've been reading up on the Grimms, trying to learn as much as I can about them."

Shiva nodded. "Problem?"

"A few. First," Louis flipped the pages until he stopped at the content he wanted to show, letting Shiva see the picture, "the Snake Greater Horror that both you and Rin faced. According to the Grimm bestiary, the 'King Taijitu' is an uncommon Grimm that is ranked among some of the weaker tier of Grimms."

Shiva blinked. "They're 'weak?'" She was almost eaten twice by it!

"The biggest danger comes from its uncommon sightings and its massive size, which tends to exaggerate Huntsman's caution and overthink things." Louis summarised what the book wrote. "It has only two methods of attacking: Bites and constrictions, but it can incorporate ambush tactics with its alternate head. Beyond that, it is recommended for two Huntsmen to tackle King Taijitus at the same time, so they could split the attention of the two heads."

It…was not too far different from what Rin and herself had done. Rin took care of the White Head while she did the same for the Black. She supposed that the bestiary had useful hints to learn from. "What else?"

Louis flipped the pages again, stopping at a bipedal dog Grimm. "While the two of you faced the Snake, we fought a rather large pack of Beowolves." Shiva committed the creature's picture to her memory. "The Beowolves share the same weakest ranking with several other Grimms, but what made them dangerous were their Pack Mentality. They barely ever travel alone, not even those that act as a Scout. They are also theorised to evolve the fastest, as every pack met by Huntsmen always had one 'Alpha Beowolf' as the leader. The preferred strategy to fight them was to 'cut off their head,' as in killing the Alpha, then the rest of the Beowolves will either revert back to their instincts or flee."

"Your experience?" Shiva asked.

"We never engaged the Alpha, it hid behind its subordinates and had the survival instincts to protect itself from Mia's shooting." Louis went into his 'Thinking Pose.' "It also seems to answer to Grimms that are more powerful than itself, or at least fear or respect them. I'm assuming this because the Alpha retreated after both of you had killed the Snake."

Shiva nodded. "The Sea Grimm?"

"The 'Sea Feilong.'" Louis flipped the pages forward. "They are a rare sight and thus they do not have a whole lot of background information about it. Their Lightning Breath is considered one of the most dangerous range-based abilities in the entire Grimm kingdom, but they could only do so once every few times, or they would need a 'very long charging time,' leaving themselves open to attacks."

Shiva frowned. "Garlet got lucky."

"I assume so." Louis closed the book. "It shot at us, then immediately tried to shoot at the ship." He tapped the book on his knee. "We need to understand how each Grimm functions. We only ever fought so many kinds of Losts back home, but the number of Grimm types far exceeds the number of Lost types."

"Vale area." Shiva suggested.

Louis nodded. "I agree. I'll check out the Kingdom's list of Grimms and make sure we're prepared to face them."

—————  
**”Good evening everyone! This is Yukihime and I am here with the latest news, for those who missed the CCTS broadcast. Roman Torchwick, Master Thief! In cahoots with the White Fang? Captured members of the White Fang had thrown their conspirator under the bus! For those not in the know, eyewitnesses reported, two days ago, that they saw a battle occurred between the Huntresses of Beacon and White Fang, who were working as subordinates to one Roman Torchwick. Despite the battle that resulted in three destroyed Bullheads, no one had suffered more damage than a scraped knee.**

**I mean, can you actually believe that? Them dropping out of the laser-dissected airships from around three stories high, or an intact, piloted Bullhead crashing into a stack of crates then exploded completely. Maybe it was a RC-Bullhead? But we're not here to speculate!”**

—————  
Somehow, Shiva was not surprised to find Yakumo at the bar having a drink and looking at his precious photograph. "Seat taken?" She took a hold of the bar stool.

Yakumo briefly looked up and huffed with a smile. "Not at all. Go ahead."

Shiva obliged. The bartender swiftly approached Shiva when she had taken her seat. "Something stiff."

The bartender nodded and went off for a moment to prepare her drink, which arrived to her just as swiftly, sliding across the bar top into her waiting hand. Picking up the glass, she tapped Yakumo's raised glass of brandy in a clink and drained half the volume. The poison burned her throat and stomach, then settled and warmed her body.

Alcoholic drinks did not do much for a Revenant beyond that.

They sat in silence after that, Yakumo swimming in his memories and Shiva nursing the rest of her drink, staring at the bubbles that continued to reappear in the drink itself.

Shiva envied them at times, having the memories of their past to dwell within for a source of strength and conviction. Shiva had none of hers, the cycle of dispersal and regeneration had robbed her of nearly all her memories. She had nothing left to call her own, back then.

Io gave her something. Then Louis and Yakumo. Coco, Rin and Davis. Mia and Nicola. Jack and Eva.

"I didn't peg you to be a drinker." Shiva turned to Yakumo. He was leading on the bar top and facing her.

Shiva shook her glass, making the ice clink together. "Don't know." She could not recall having ever drank something like this.

Yakumo leaned back and looked up. "You know, we never did have that brandy together." He meant the one she found in Juzo Mido's underground lab: One of his employees must have had snuck a few bottles in but never had a chance to drink it. Oh well, their loss was Yakumo's gain. He turned to her grinning, and pointed at her with his glass in hand. "When we get back to Home Base, let's crack it open and celebrate our successful mission outside Gaol. It'll be a great memory!"

Shiva blinked at his suggestion, smiled, then raised her glass to his, tapping it again. "Promise."

_But it will never occur._

—————  
**"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is Captain Garlet speaking. In two hours' time, we shall be docking at the Vale Port. First, I would like to thank everyone for the patience and understanding for our delay. Next, we like to thank you for riding with VSV Alluvion. For those who had booked a return trip ride with us, please approach our Vale Branch's office for further information regarding your return trip. I wish everyone a good day ahead."**

—————

#### Vale dock, Kingdom of Vale

Yakumo remembered once upon a time, the Ruined City looked like this.

Standing on the wooden planks that made up the docks, Yakumo looked up the perfectly undamaged breakwater wall to see colourful apartments and glass-walled office buildings standing tall. People in casual clothing were pacing behind the railings, some stopped to admire the sea and boats while others were travelling to other places. Beyond what he could see, he could hear vehicle engines rumbling over the idling noise of the Alluvion. "What a sight."

"Indeed." Louis agreed.

Rin ran a few steps forward, her backpack jiggling from the movement, turned sideways and spread opened her hands. "Look at these! Everything looks so perfect!" The males of Team BRNZ—Brawnz had explained the colour abbreviation to the Revenants back on Alluvion—joined her.

Meanwhile, Mia and May were looking over a hungover Shiva lagging behind them. "You really shouldn't have drank something so strong." May said.

"Uuugghhh..." Shiva had a hand to her head. "At least I knew now that I probably never drank before." She sounded like an old man currently. "Can't even be drunk but the effect—" A gulp cut off her sentence. "Drinking sucks." She dragged out the last word.

Yakumo laughed at her hangover. "When we have that brandy, we'll get some food inside you to lessen that effect."

Mia smacked his back with Brodiaea. "Stop laughing! Half of this is your fault! She was vomiting the whole night!"

"Eeh, screw this." Shiva used Panacea's Essence, which turned the gathered ichor in her palm from red to a pinkish smoke that quickly emitted from her hand to her body. Almost immediately, her expression went from pained to her default frowning blank. "Better. Should've done earlier." Yakumo snorted. A hangover cure! How awesome was that?

May blinked at what had just occurred. "What is your Semblance exactly, Lady Shiva? A form of healing through the use of blood?"

Except for Rin who was ahead, the Revenants looked between themselves. Louis was the one to answer. "It's hard to explain without fully disclosing our origin beyond being survivors of the Ruined City. Suffice to say, it's not what you called 'Semblance,' but instead we called it 'Gift.'" May nodded, understanding thus far. "Simply put, all of us can use several different Gifts that are unique to ourselves, except for Shiva herself."

May frowned. "That actually sounds like 'Semblance?'" She was thinking over it. "'Semblance' is also unique to each individual which can be evolved through growth, which has been known to change functions in some Huntsmen."

"I'll let you have a more satisfactory and complete explanation when we have the time after our mission." Louis said. May nodded in acceptance.

Rin and the males of Team BRNZ were waiting just further ahead, which the four of them were quick to rejoin once they started moving once more. The dock had already been cleared of disembarking passengers from Alluvion, so they had the whole dock to their unhurried walk. As the group in front stepped onto the concrete pavement of the staircase, Yakumo heard Shiva commenting about something. _"Check this out..."_

"What's that, Shiva?" Yakumo turned to her, who looked confusedly back.

Shiva shook her head.

"What's wrong?" Louis was at the first step when he looked to them.

Yakumo scratched his head. "It's nothing, I thought I--"

"Sh!" Shiva suddenly put up her hand. _"I'm going to be the first..."_

_‘…Wait a moment. She did not open her mouth to say that!’_

"Was that...?" Louis was paying attention now.

Shiva nodded. "Vestige."

_'The voice from it...'_ "Could it be your own?" Yakumo watched as Shiva gave a deliberate nod.

"How could there be one here?" Louis stepped next to the two of them.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Rin was looking down at them from the second flight of staircase, almost reaching the top of the wall. Mia and Team BRNZ had stopped as well.

While Yakumo and Shiva had started looking around the wooden dock, Louis answered their companions. "We heard the echoing sound of a Vestige."

Mia and Rin were just as surprised, with a shout of "What!" before they scrambled back down the staircase.

Team BRNZ was absolutely confused. "What is going on? What did you hear?" Brawnz was leading the questions. But none of the Revenants answered him, for they were focused on trying to pinpoint the location of the hidden Vestige. Without an answer, the Team was left to stand confusedly on the landing.

As the Revenants were spreading further out, Mia was the one to find it. "It's under the dock, in the shallow water!" She pointed at the spot.

When Mia called out under the dock, Shiva had already jumped down into the water. She waddled her way to the glowing red crystal under the greyish waters as Yakumo and Louis joined her in the water. Rin and Mia stayed on the dock and they were shortly joined by Team BRNZ.

"Wait!" Louis called out. Yakumo and Shiva stopped in their tracks, with Shiva standing close to the glowing spot. "Shiva, you can't access Vestiges anymore, remember?"

_'Ah, that's right! She no longer has the Relic.'_

"Is that Burn Dust?" May was the one who asked.

"'Dust?'" Mia questioned while Rin took out the Vestige container that the late Attendant, Leda used a long time ago. "No, whatever you're thinking of, that's not it."

Louis took the container from Rin. "It is for the best if we just take it with us for now."

"Louis." Shiva was still staring at the Vestige. "If it was your voice echoing from the Vestige, wouldn't you want to know?"

"Shiva, Aurora told you before. You're not a Successor anymore." Louis stepped forward to the Vestige. "If you try to access that Vestige now, you'll frenzy."

Not knowing what else he could do, missing out on the context of their conversation, Yakumo could only approach his two best friends and stand by Shiva's side.

"But," Louis continued, "but I'll admit that I would want to know." He looked down at the Vestige. "What was my life like before the Collapse? I know I was a student, but what was I studying? What about my school life? Friends from back then? But Shiva," he turned to her. "you can't do that anymore. It is going to cost you if you keep insisting."

Shiva closed her eyes and inhaled. "It'll be fine." She said.

"Shiva!" Louis hooked a hand through hers. He watched her with a pregnant pause. "...that day you were brought in to Karen...Did you nearly Frenzied that day because you found a Vestige of your own?"

_'What? When did that happen?’_

Shiva nodded, shrugging off Louis' hand and kneeled down. "Mia, Rin, don't let them come near." She meant Team BRNZ. "Louis, Yakumo. If it does go wrong...I trust the two of you."

"Shiva!" 

The Revenants yelled as she reached into the murky water. Almost immediately, she lifted her hand up into the air, an object held in hand. The Vestige pulsed a sickly red glow in her palm. With it out of the water, Shiva's voice echoing out of the Vestige became clearer. _”—are the real—”_

"Woah, that's a pretty big Burn Dust." Nolan said.

"But what is with that sound?" Roy asked.

For a moment, nothing seemed to be happening. Shiva was still grasping onto the Vestige while Louis and Yakumo was standing behind her. Mia and Rin were anticipating what was to come, while Team BRNZ were curious about what they were doing.

"Uh, guys?" May started. "What exactly are y—"

The Vestige's spiked parts suddenly shot through Shiva's hand, as they had expected it. She grunted from the pain, while Team BRNZ was surprised and yelled out.

Yakumo largely ignored the teenagers, keeping an eye on Shiva as she held the activated Vestige. Slowly, painfully, Shiva pulled her other hand up and held the wrist of the first. Her eyes glowed scarlet as blood ran down her arms.

Then she collapsed into a kneel and started growling.

"Shiva!" Yakumo leapt forward, reaching for her shoulder. He was going to pull that Vestige out of her hand, consequences be damned!

But when he placed his hand on her shoulder, the world went silent.

—————

#### ???, ???

_Yakumo blinked rapidly and shook his head. Around his immediate area was nothing but darkness. The breakwater wall was gone, so was the water he was standing in, the dock that was above him and all of his friends._

_It reminded him of the memory delves that Shiva used to be able to do._

'In fact, it probably is.' _Yakumo thought, trying to find something in the darkness._ 'Maybe Louis and Aurora's tests are wrong? Maybe Shiva could actually still do this without a Relic?'

_In front of him, the lightless world was brightened by a single lamp post, erected on a floating platform that he had no immediate way to get to. And underneath the lamp post, he saw her. "Shiva!" She did not react to him. Yakumo stepped forward, walking on the sidewalk that were floating towards his feet and forming walkable path for him._ 'This is absolutely similar to the memory restorations Shiva and Io used to do for us...' _"Shiva?"_

_She was enraptured by whatever sight was between two buildings. He could recognise an alleyway when he saw one. Taking a couple more steps, he stopped beside her and peered into the alleyway to see what had captured her attention._

_As he had expected, several garbage bins filled the alleyway: Two large bins, one closer to the entrance and another one further inside; One smaller bin was placed beside a side door, while the last two similar sized bin had fallen, their contents scattered across the ground in the ashen-colours of the memory walk. But those were not what had his attention._

_It was the two tiny figures, also coloured in ash, that were beside the large bin at the back that caught his attention. Both the ash statues were tiny—children, the smaller one sitting with its back to the bin while the slighting bigger one was standing wide with hands splayed out towards the sitter._

_Yakumo noted that both the children figures had pointed ears on their heads._

_Shiva: "Check it out, Kali! I've found some drumsticks! Hazzah! We're gonna eat like Princesses tonight!"_

_Kali: "…"_

_Shiva: "Kali? What's wrong?"_

_Kali: "Why do they hit us? We did not do anything…"_

_Shiva: "…Adults play rough! That's what Papa used to say…"_

_Kali: "Where is 'Papa'? Where is 'Mama'?"_

_Shiva: "They are protecting us from the Grimm!"_

_Kali: "…I want to see Papa and Mama…I never see them before..."_

_Shiva: "…"_

_"When Kali was a baby, our parents died to the Grimm." Shiva suddenly said, unknowingly answering a question that was forming in his mind. Yakumo looked away from the two children statues to the grown-up woman beside him, still forlornly staring at the statues. "You weren't here at the beginning. My Father told us to run. My Mother gave Kali to me then distracted them."_

_Yakumo patted her on the shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Shiva."_

_Shiva walked up to the statues and kneeled beside the statue of Kali. "Her last words were 'You're the big sister. Protect your little sister.' She sighed. "I can't even recall her face, just the desperation." Yakumo had no idea what to reply. He—and likely most of the Revenants—had never thought about his own parents until now._

_Shiva stood back up. She turned to Yakumo, scrutinising him. She tilted her head. "How…?"_

_Yakumo shook his head. "I have no idea. You collapsed into the water and started to scream. I was able to catch you then, at the next moment, I'm there." He pointed back the way he came from with a thumb._

_Shiva nodded, seemingly not at all minding his presence, and turned to the other side of the alleyway, where another lamp post stood before a road. "Maybe there's an answer further ahead…" Yakumo followed her in silent as she stepped away from her childhood._

_As the road brightened, Yakumo began to see figures appearing. They were standing around facing a make-shift podium using a vehicle. The most prominent features of these group of statue-people were their various additional body parts: Horns, Tails, or Ears. Yakumo stood beside Shiva, who was standing behind two familiar statues._

_In this scene, it would seem that Shiva and Kali had grown older by a few years. The taller Shiva was pulling the shorter Kali, seemingly trying to leave the scene._

_Kali: "I can't see him!"_

_Shiva: "We can hear him just fine. He's so loud!"_

_Kali: "But I want to see him! That handsome face! That hulking body! Kyaah!"_

_Shiva: "Gi—Girl! You're too young for this! Time to go."_

_Kali: "Not fair! You do this but I can't!"_

_Shiva: "Hm! I'm the older sister! You're just a pipsqueak. Come on."_

_Kali: "Ah, wait! I need to get a photo of Ghira!"_

_Shiva: "No!"_

_Yakumo laughed at the scene. Shiva, big sister extraordinaire! Trying to control her little starstruck sister. At the least, he now understood why she was good with Mia, Rin and Io. When he tore his eyes away from the sisters, he saw that Shiva had approached the man standing on the podium. "So, who is he?" He asked as he joined Shiva._

_Shiva shook her head, then tilted her head: She had no idea as well, yet. She scanned the area, wondering where she had to go, then stopped at the roadside tree near the junction._

_Yakumo once again followed her lead._

_As they rounded the corner with the tree, the darkness began to brightened and a forest grew rapidly in front of his eyes. A less travelled path was created between the trees, leading into a secluded clearing. There, in the clearing, he could see the man and the sisters. The man now had spikes around his chin, which Yakumo assumed was the start of a beard. Statue Shiva was nearly reaching her own current height, while Kali was shorter but her ears was larger by comparison. Kali was seen wrapping her arms around the waist of the far bigger man, hugging the shocked man, while Statue Shiva was tilting and scratching her head, seemingly in exasperation._

_Ghira: "For it is in Liberation that we achieve Morality. Through this, we become a paragon of Virtue and Integrity to understand those who fear. Infinite in truth and unbound by emotion, I release your soul, and by my strength, guide thee."_

_Shiva and Kali: "Woah!"_

_In front of Yakumo, Shiva suddenly collapsed, gasping for air as she held her chest. "Shiva! What's wrong?" He held her up by the shoulders. She was sweating profusely, droplets of water dripping to the dirt._

_Ghira: "What the two of you felt is the feeling of your Auras unlocking and, for the first time, running wild. Don't do too much, however. You'll run out of Aura after the high and simply collapse in exhaustion."_

_ Shiva: "So this is Aura...What Huntsman uses..."_

_Kali: "Thank you Ghira!"_

_Ghira: "It—It's no problem! The White Fang will certainly gain better standing with your help. Both of you."_

_Shiva: "Mhm. Sure thing, Boss. You got it."_

_Ghira: "Bo-Boss! Please just call me by my name. I'm not your Boss. We're a _family_."_

_Kali: "Kyaah!"_

_Ghira: "Opff! Can't…Breath…”_

_Shiva: "Kali! Let the Boss go before you kill him!"_

_Silence descended as this stage of the memory walk had ended. Yakumo was still holding onto Shiva, who had leaned against him as she recovered from her sudden ordeal. She was looking at her own hands, glowing with an ethereal violet colour that, from Yakumo's sight, covered her entire body and seeping into himself. "It's unlocked...No, it's released." Shiva whispered._

_"What is that? 'Aura?'" This was the first time he heard of the term. He had no idea what it meant. As well as what she meant._

_Shiva nodded. She dropped her hands to her side, the colour covering herself and him disappearing as she did. "Manifestation of our Soul. All Living Creatures have a soul, thus have an Aura. But it needs to be unlocked, through training or, as you just witnessed, by another skilled Aura user."_

__'All living creatures?' _"Does that mean I can have my Aura unlocked too? What does it actually do?"_

_Shiva lifted a hand, in her palm she clutched the broken Queenslayer. Before Yakumo thought about how she was going to explain Aura, she brought the sharp edge down on her other hand's elbow. Then, as Yakumo blinked at her action, she took away the blade. The exposed flesh of her elbow remained undamaged and flawless. "It provides a form of Energy Shield that recharges over time. It can enhance attacks and even equipment as well. And that is just the base uses for it.”_

_"A permanent shield and empowered attacks?" That explained some of the things the woman could do or had done back in the Gaol. "So you always had it?"_

_But Shiva shook her head, disproving his thought. "I had my Aura…held back."_

_Yakumo blinked. "Why?"_

_Shiva opened her mouth and inhaled. Then closed it again. She did it once more, before she audibly swallowed and simply shook her head. Either she did not want to explain it, or she did not know how to.._

_"So…" Yakumo was trying to think of something to break the silence. "That Ghira guy was your…Boss?"_

_"Not…Boss, per say. He is the Founder and Leader of a Faunus Group named White Fang. Faunus are people like me, who have additional animal traits. But we were discriminated by Humans." Shiva, with the support of Yakumo, stood up. She walked up to the statues. "He's our mentor, he picked us up from our...predicament."_

_"He is a good man." Yakumo could see why Shiva's sister seemed to have a huge crush on him. "Is he...?_ ‘Alive?’ _Yakumo trailed off._

_Shiva shook her head. "I do not know." She understood his unfinished question. She pushed away from Yakumo, standing unsteadily under her own power. She stepped pass the three statues of her past and deeper into the forest._

_Following Shiva, Yakumo found themselves stepping onto bricked pavement once again. To his right, he could see a frozen sea that reached the breakwater wall they were atop of, very much similar to the dock that they had arrived in. He could see the wooden jetty as well, though it was a single path instead of the multiple split version they had arrived at. Perhaps this was a different jetty? Or perhaps this was before the additional branches were built? Yakumo walked two steps behind Shiva as she descended down the snaking staircase and approached the two statues at the end of the dock._

_Shiva: "Goal for the future? Hhmm…What about you?"_

_Kali: "I asked you first, dear sister. Hehe."_

_Shiva: "Hhmm…I have no idea."_

_Kali: "How about a Professor? I've seen the way you teach the kids. Some of them seems absolutely smittened."_

_Shiva: "Don't remind me. The number of times they asked to have their Aura unlocked…Ugh. Once is enough. Sienna is already a handful. Don't want to deal with them."_

_Kali: "I know you don't mean that. You like them. That's why I believe you'll make a good Professor, or at least a Teacher."_

_Shiva: "Sigh. You really think so?"_

_Kali: "Mmhhmm."_

_Shiva: "Fine. In that case, I'm going to be the first Faunus Headmaster--"_

_Kali: "Woah!"_

_Shiva: "—probably, when someone decides to build an Academy at Menagerie. Like the kids like to say recently: Go big or go home. And it's not like we got a 'home.' Going big is the next thing on the list."_

_Kali: "*Clap clap* You'll be a great Headmaster someday."_

_Shiva: "Now, what about you?"_

_Kali: "I'm going to be Ghira's wife!"_

_Shiva: "*whispers* Bros damn it... *speaks* I can't believe you're still on about that."_

_Kali: "Think about it! When my future husband approaches the Mayor and makes the request to build an Academy on Menagerie, he's going to do everything to please my darling Ghira's request."_

_Shiva: "*whispers* Sigh...Bros damn it."_

_Kali: "Hey! It's a great plan!"_

_"But I didn't want that." Shiva said, kneeling behind the statue of Kali, a hand on her head. "Everything I said was to satisfy her." She frowned, other hand clenched into a fist. "All I really wanted to do was to protect her."_

_That sounded borderline obsessive. Did Shiva thought of what Kali wanted? If Shiva was being overbearingly protective of little Kali, it was no wonder she seemed to have drifted away. Kali's obsession to Ghira might have simply being a way for her to show or tell youth Shiva that she could or should trust someone else. But Yakumo would not know from here. But one thing was for sure, she loved her little sister, even after all these time. Even now. "Let's go look for her. She have to be somewhere out here."_

_Shiva said nothing immediately nor made any motion. She kept her hand on the statue's head, eyeing the back of the representation of her sister, thinking of something that she was not keen to share. When the world around them had darkened into nothingness but the planked jetty she stood back up. She turned to Yakumo with a smile and nodded. "Yeah." She finally replied._

_Additional planks and supports erected themselves at the end of the jetty, elongating the footpath and lead them towards the carved stone steps of the Memory Gate that would take them out of the Vestige. Shiva led Yakumo forward, stepping from wood to stone and up the staircase as the door began to open, letting in the white blinding light that was always behind the massive gate._

_ **"YOU HUMANS ARE THE REAL, FUCKING ANIMALS!—"** _

_Yakumo whirled around in surprise at the scream, just as the blinding light engulfed him._

_But for just a short moment before the light swallowed him, he saw it._

_Two walls, an alleyway. A gigantic snowflake made the alleyway a deadend. Tiny bodies sown the ground, some with appendages that defined the Faunus. Six figures stood erect, clutching rods and tools in their hands, none of them having any animalistic features._

_And in the centre of the bodies sat a familiar statue with pointed triangles on the head._

_And he saw no more, blinded by the whiteness of the gate._

_But he heard it all._

_ **"I'm going to kill you. I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!"** _

—————

#### Vale Dock

Yakumo stepped back in shock, waddling in the water that reached up to his knees. His head rang with an echo and a pulsation that he tried to shake off, his free hand reaching for his forehead: It felt like it was about to burst and he was seeing double.

"Yakumo!" He heard Louis yelled beside him. He sounded as if he was having a mouthful of water. "Shiva! What happened?"

He had no idea. "I—" They never had such a bad reaction to entering and exiting Vestige before. He collapsed to a knee.

"Yakumo!"

"I'm fine..." He forced the words out. He tried to make out the shape in front of his eyes. "How's—" A blood-curdling scream cut his words off.

Shiva was going frenzy! Veins were exposing themselves from the rush of blood on her right arm as she fell face-first into the shallow water. Yakumo got to his feet with the support of his sword as Louis and Rin—when had she gotten into the water?—waddled across the water to reach the woman. Louis immediate grabbed a hold of her the moment he reached the shaking woman.

"What is happening?" Yakumo heard one of Team BRNZ shouted. He took a quick glance to see Mia holding them back from dropping in as well.

It was dangerous for any of the teenagers to approach them.

Her Ivy Blood Vein suddenly manifested into their drain mode. The twin lines went wild, tearing across the water and shooting up towards the dock, where one—with a hook end—crashed into and stuck there. Louis caught the other out-of-control Veil at the same time as he tried to hold onto the shaking Shiva above the water. "Rin! We need Blood Beads, now!"

Rin swung her backpack off herself, throwing it into the water in a rush to pull open the compartment where the Beads were kept. The Veil that was in the wood tore itself off and went towards her, nearly piercing her if not for Yakumo reaching for it and grasping the line.

Rin pulled out two Beads, one in each hand. Another fell out of the bag and hit the water, floating with the waves.

"Shiva! Hang on!" Louis tried in vain to calm down the frenzying woman, still screaming and kicking away trying to free herself. "Shiva!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this, the first Arc's done. Poor attempts at writing jokes lol. Also kinda rushed at the end, couldn't come out with anything better despite some attempts. ./sad
> 
> Taking a break and organising my (non-existent) notes. Had a bit of trouble writing the Memory Scene because, while I already had the idea of what was going to happen, I couldn’t get the words out properly. And now I have to rethink the beginning part of Vale Arc as well (originally I never thought much about it and ignored the politics side of things). 
> 
> It’ll be out when it’s ready. You can start panicking if nothing comes up by February. Might do some plot-bunnies dump separately as well, weirdas ideas just decided to pop up randomly.
> 
> —————  
Gift (Spell/Skill list)  
**Panacea’s Essence** — Cures you and your partner of all debuffs, or blocks them if used before being afflicted.


	8. Intermission: Outsider [1/3]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everybody! I hope that all of you had and is having a great time and start this 2020!  
—————  
**Previous Chapter Edits**  
Vein 03 (Minor): Changed school’s ‘Term’ to ‘Semester’. Mixed up the timeline, I had thought things happened in a manner of weeks.
> 
> Vein 03 (Major): Changed the timeline that the party exited Gaol of the Mist, from ‘months’ to ‘years’. Rechecked the Epilogue-Homebase scene and realised that years had passed before they left Gaol, so edits were done to reflect it.  
—————  
Well, it currently is January, so I’m not exactly late…? The truth is that I had Intermission chapter done 1 month ago, but while I was editing it, I realise I hated it. It came off too edgy, so I decided to rewrite the entire thing.
> 
> I honestly want to rewrite the whole thing, to be honest, but as you can see, if it took me a month to rewrite this short chapter, you can imagine how long it will take me to rewrite _everything_. So my current plan is to get Devi Vestige done first, then _maybe_ rewrite it.
> 
> Finally, the next chapter will, unfortunately, not be out anytime soon. I had time to write back on Oct and Nov, but now work is picking up again so I have less time to write. I tagged (in AO3) that this will have no regular schedule, this is going to become true now.
> 
> Now, enjoy~

### Intermission: Outsider [1/3]

His eyes opened.

Bright light stabbed at his retinas, forcing him to shut his eyes. He blinked slowly, then rapidly, getting adjusted to the light.

He felt sore and tired. He tried to get up, to assess his current situation, but a hand on his chest stopped him. "Jack, stop. You need to rest." A woman's voice said.

Tracing the hand up to its owner, Jack Rutherford looked up from the scarred arm with red glove to the white hair that framed her marred face. "E—" Sand grind his throat, sending the man into a coughing fit. "Eva, where…?"

"We're at the Provisional Government's hospital." Eva informed him. "Rest, Jack. You need it."

Yeah, rest sounded good. Especially when Eva started humming. He closed his eyes and slept.  
————— 

#### Hospital, New Provisional Government, Gaol of the Mist 'Vein'.

#### Six days after Shiva’s party left the Gaol.

When Jack woke again, he felt…better, but still tired. Looking around the room, it seemed that he had been left alone to recuperate after Eva had let him slumber.

Like most of the buildings inside Gaol, the whole place was rundown and barely able to be called a room. But, at the least, debris were cleared and the room was filled with unoccupied beds of various types, and a double-door-plus-drawers cupboard of a dark coloured wood variant.

It was surprising to find a large amount of usable furniture when people had the time, safety and inclination to do so. No Revenants wanted to open their eyes when they revived after their dispersal and find themselves in an uninhibited, dirty and dangerous room, far from the safety of a Mistle. So the first thing they did, after establishing the new Government and abolishing Silva's levy system, was to make the place livable. Shinonome had been particularly efficient in that matter. It was no surprise, considering how welcoming and homely Home Base was since he was its interior designer.

Jack tried to move his hands to push himself up, only to fall short and fell wayward on his side. Looking towards the left, his eyes widened as he realised what was wrong, then Regenerated immediately. All he felt was a rush of blood pumped from his heart to his shoulder, reaching down to the furthest reach then…

An end. Of ash colour and solidly unchanging. One that had formed at the end of his left elbow, with nothing else left below that. Jack collapsed back onto the bed, slapping his right hand to his scarred face and feeling an itch of irritation.

He was angry. He was furious. What did that woman do that had _destroyed_ his left arm?

It had been some time since he had suffered such a catastrophic failure that resulted in his dispersal. He had been careless, having not expected the disparity in the combat abilities of the Frenzied Su—Lost versus the Clones, despite the lack of her Relic of the Nerve1. Remnants of the Relic’s Blood Code could not explain the kind of abilities she displayed, which was…Otherworldly…

“Outsider…” He muttered her nickname in contempt, bestowed upon her by her ‘recruiter’ after she had expressed her lack of memories post-revival as a Revenant. _Outsider_ was fitting and described her powers aptly. No Gifts maintained an unending full-body Barrier and no Gifts could force a Revenant to _ash_ prematurely. _’Who or what is she?’_

_David._ His mind supplied. The school teacher Revenant might have the answer. In the aftermath of Operation: Queenslayer, he was introduced to one of the many background fighters that brought about the success of it through their unsung efforts. One of the teams, a two-person party, had been David Memphos and Outsider, the latter whom had only awakened several hours prior to the end of the Operation. He had to find out more about the woman before he descend back into the depths of Oil Rig to face her.

“Jack! You’re awake!” He turned to the doorway. Eva Roux, his partner—currently working as a spokesperson for the new Government, was standing there, eyes wide with concern. She stepped to his side as he pushed himself up once more, now aware of his lack of a left limb, and helped him. He never felt more embarrassment and fury before. Not at Eva, but at his weakened state. 

“How long has it been since I went into the Oil Rig?”

“Five days.” Eva informed him. “Someone found you unconscious by a Mistle three days ago. Doctor Florence attends to you while you’re asleep.” She rested her hands on what remained of his arm. “I should have been with you—”

“No, Eva.” Jack faced her, brushing her hair aside as he caressed her face, pulling back his ashing arm from her palm. “Your place is here.” There was no way he was going to put her in danger anymore. She had done far more than enough for him since the end of the Queen. There was no need for her to risk herself any longer. “They need you.” _'Especially not against Outsider.'_

“I’m your partner, Jack.” She withdrew a hand to her chest, clenching them to her heart, an incredibly hurt look gracing her facial. “Or am I the only one who still—”

“I would remove my hand from his ashing arm if I were you.” The sudden voice by the door surprised the both of them and made Eva actually take her other hand away from him. “I don’t know if the effect is contagious.”

The newcomer was a beige-skinned young woman, the same height as the kid, with a head of scarlet hair with blue highlights that was both braided and tied to the back of her head. She was dressed in dark violet leather suit down to her upper thigh, where it was abruptly ripped to ribbons and left her toned legs visible. A front-open black torn skirt was held up on her waist by cloth belt harness, with her whole ensemble covered by a doctor's white coat. She also wore a thick-rim pair of spectacles, a neck scarf, black forearm-length gloves and heeled boots. She also had a unique features: Cracked open skin on her face around both her eyes, where the flesh had turned from red to black after the removal of her second Relic.

Doctor Clementine Florence was an ex-Successor, one that the party had not had the chance to cross paths with. After everything had settled down, Jack brought Eva, Shiva and Nicola to her Crypt, only to find it devoid of an ex-Successor. But there was a trail, made of frozen Losts that yet lived, stuck in a limbo state caused by an inhibition effect. The party of four followed the obviously unnatural phenomenon, which led to the Doctor, who previously bore the Queen's Marrow2.

She had met up with two other Revenants: One was a mercenary of her own age, who wielded a battle axe and disliked working as a team. Jack was secretly glad that he did not have to deal with Andrew Alfton; The other was David, a school teacher from a bygone time in the Ruined City. The same David that Jack would have to find later. The three had gathered and were planning a contingency for the return of the Queen with the loss of Florence’s Relic and Silva’s Frenzy, until Jack's party found them and explained everything. After returning to the society, they had split to contribute to the survival of everyone inside Gaol.

"Doctor Florence, what is happening to Jack?" Eva stood up and let Doctor Florence step to the bedside. The Doctor gave her a 'wait' gesture before she took his arm by the bicep, completely ignoring her own advice to Eva, and looked at the hardened end. 

"Did you try to Regenerate your arm?"

"Naturally, Doctor." Jack tried not to flinch from Florence's icy and numbing touch that travelled to his shoulder: It was an inhibition Gift and effect. Why was she maintaining it? _'And who wouldn't try to heal back a missing arm?'_

Florence removed her inhibiting hand and dug into her coat's pocket, retrieving a pen. "How did it feel when you did so? Can you elaborate?" On her other hand was a data pad.

"Nothing. I imagined it being similar to a water building up in a hose, but not going anywhere."

Florence wrote his response. "Any leakage?"

"None."

"Lightheadedness? Dizziness? Nausea? Chest pain?"

"Nothing."

"Huh? Surprising."

"What's so surprising?"

"Do you feel anything from your bicep?" 

"Yes."

"And the rest of your body?"

"Fine."

"Really?" The first time she sounded skeptical in her questioning. "Trying moving more than just sitting up."

Jack complied to the order by pulling up his legs and twisting himself to them, sitting at the edge of the bed. He might as well get ready to leave, for he still have much work to do, not to mention the backlog from the days he had went into a recovery state. His small actions felt lethargic. He chalked it up to fatigue. "I'm good."

Florence crossed her arms and glared at her patient. "I find that hard to believe. Because you are breathing harder than normal."

He was? Jack had not realised it until now. "Fatigue, that is all." _'There's nothing wrong here.'_ He tried to slow down his breathing, but his lungs demanded air.

Florence tapped the tablet to her waist. The sound echoed when the glass hit her belt buckle. "I'm not blind, you know? But I can't help you if you choose to be stubborn."

"Jack, please." Eva took a seat beside him and slid a hand over his shoulder and back. "Even I can see that something is wrong. Just tell Doctor Florence what it is that you are feeling."

He growled. He was tired of playing twenty questions with the Doctor. "Just tired." He tried to sound convincing. "I'll be fine in a few hours once my body wakes up."

"'the hell are you bastards so…" Florence mumbled softly. He heard it anyway. She went to the cupboard and withdrew two vials—one red, one white—and something else the size of her palm. Jack could see that it was a colourless, translucent block of something. It did not seem like a container of any kind. Florence brought the block back to the bed and held it out to him. He could feel cold air emanating from it. "Guess what this thing is."

Jack took the block and realised what it was: The Doctor's Blood Code Gift, a freezing type of attack that could completely encapsulate something in ice, with a nasty effect of Inhibition. Jack had seen her use this Gift extensively on Losts, putting them in a cold _sleep_ that prevented them from dispersal. Florence had said that the Gift put the BOR parasite into hibernation, allowing the Revenants to lock them away.

The effect did nothing to prevent the immortality of Lost, however. And all the parasite needed was a few free cells to kick-start the dispersal protocol, thus escaping their confinement. It also required Florence to go to the _holding cells_ and reapply the Gift regularly, which took time away from her duties.

"What's that inside it?" There was a slab of something inside, round and flat on one side while unevenly jagged on the other.

"A part of your arm I amputated off—" Jack's eyes widened, tightening his grip on the ice block in response. _'What did you just say?'_ "—trying to contain the effect. About an inch of the flat part was healthy when I iced it. But that part had ashed as well, while inhibited inside." She looked down to his missing arm. "And it seems that the ashing effect is still occurring to you, despite me having taken a section of healthy flesh off to remove the source. Are you following me so far?"

Jack could feel Eva's distress. He inhaled a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm his beating heart. He nodded.

Florence brought up the vials. "Your Blood Blends. The red was donated by Miss Roux. The white was your blood extracted by Karen after we saw the effect happening within the ice." She shook the ash-filled vial, Jack could see the powdery dust clinging onto the glass. "It confirmed something for us and Aurora. Whatever happened to you has evolved into something akin to a bloodborne virus, carried by your blood and infecting other parts of you."

Jack numbly reached for the powder-filled vial. The Doctor did not have to spell it out further. He was dying, slowly turning into ash at this moment. _'Thought I'd die when a Lost or even a Horror got a lucky shot, not in a bed by invisible enemies…'_

"You can help him." Eva spoke up, a desperation tone seeping in her voice that Jack had not heard before. "Right, Doctor?"

Florence turned to Eva with a frown. "There are two methods." Her tone was even. Jack knew not to get his hopes up. "The first method is completely replace every drop of blood in his system and treat the infected cells. To test it out, we tried that on one of the Losts in cryocell—"

"You do unethical experiments on our _criminals_?" Jack needed to say something to get himself out of his misery. It worked.

Florence crossed her arms. "Wasn't it you and Commander Silva that wanted to lock them up as _prisoners_ and came to _me_ because the _Marrow_ Blood Code could do that?" Jack frowned. The woman still angry about it. Not every Successor had been voluntary in the strictest sense. 

While neither of them had forced her—and several others—into the role, they had been persuaded into accepting it as the situation deteriorated with the Relics attracting each other. Juzo Mido, the lead scientist at that time, plus the other researchers, had quickly identified those compatible for carrying the Relics from the list of available Revenants using, through his words, a basic set of algorithms and identifiers.

Mido had, as they found out later in his databanks, improved his methods and created Successors—not just Carriers, as Eva was capable of doing—out of Shinonome's friends.

Florence shook her head. "As I was saying. We tried, but that method failed. We simply don't have the technology to do it. And the BOR parasite would trigger its dispersal protocol when we drained a certain volume of blood, since the blood running through us is _their_ blood."

"And the second method?"

"A longer shot that you won't survive long enough to see its effects: Creating antivirals to halt its progress and hope that your BOR parasite fight it off. Gift-based inhibition has already proven to not work, so we're back to medicinal drugs to do that. But once again, we don't have the technology to accomplish that."

Eva angrily spoke up. "What if we kill her? Her Gift should dissipate after that."*

"Did you blink and fall asleep? Or stayed in PGS for too long?" Florence was getting furious again. She was not a person with much patience. "I said it's evolved into a virus. You know what a virus is, right? It's secondary or high school biology, depending on which side of the planet you're from before we were left with this shithole. Killing the original host would do nothing for the one already infected by a self-replicating organism." Eva shrunk back from the Doctor's voice. "And Losts are _un_killable, remember? Greater Losts fall even deeper into that category ! Fuck, why the hell do you think they're abusing the Marrow Blood Code and imprisoning Losts for? It certainly wasn't to build a Circus."

"That's enough, Doctor Florence. She has nothing to do with the decision Silva and I made when we wanted to rehabilitate them." Jack redirected her anger to himself. It succeed. "We know that some Losts retain enough sense of self for some levels of communication. Miss Coco confirmed this as she experienced trading goods with Lost. Even the Queen's Knight stopped attacking Revenants on sight. That was the whole point of us attempting to capture and hold Losts."

The Queen's Knight. A powerful Greater Lost that had, time and again, attacked Jack's party. The loyal Knight had only ever been spotted near the Queen, a protector against anyone attempting to kill its Queen. She had won countless skirmishes and lost only three times in battle: During the final battle in Operation: Queenslayer; Outside of the old PGS when Shiva's party encountered the reawakened Lost protecting the Frenzying Silva; And once in the underground Depths when Jack was searching and capturing Losts to be frozen by Florence. Since then, the third-time-reawakened Knight had been kneeling in front of the Weeping Tree, silently protecting it against anyone with ill-intentions. 

_'The first and last Attendant that remained behind.'_ Jack recalled the Knight’s backstory from the vestige she left behind outside PGS that Io wanted Shiva to access. Nobody knew why she had not rejoined with Io, like every other Attendants had. And _she_ obviously wasn't able to answer that herself.

"Then we better start calling them by a different name then, so the three of us will know to conduct studies on the _unrehabilitated_ ones, as opposed to the _rehabilitated_ folks." Florence snarked.

Jack sighed. He honestly had enough of the woman's attitude, however justified she thought it was. He needed something to change the topic. "How about Shiva? She has the Gift that cures all debilitating effects." It came from the Blood Code that Io had given her. _'What did she call it? Panacea? Remedy?'_

Florence's eyes broke contact to look down in concentration. "It might work. Gifts that counteract Gifts do so by forcing their BOR parasite onto a state of overdrive to produce counteragents to fight off invasive viruses. And Panacea's Essence is its literal namesake, a cure-all remedy against all forms of Gift effects. But…" She shook her head. "The source of that miracle Gift came from the Attendant you said that became the Weeping Tree. And we've been feeding you Blood Beads that's sourced from the Tree itself. If the blood source can't fix you, the Gift will, very likely, not work."

"But it _might_ work?"

"It's an even worse shot than trying to create an antiviral drug from scratch with hands. Besides, I couldn't find her anywhere. What the hell happened to her?"

"She left the Gaol to look for civilisation outside."

Florence blinked. "What? When? How?"

"Six days ago." Jack went into the Derelict Oil Rig shortly after both Silva and himself had communicated with Louis over the radio. It took far too long to clear away the debris of collapsed tunnels and broken drill head to access into the Depths, all the while being dogged by Outsider Clones in the form of the Invading Executioner. Shiva decided to leave some time before the Well Depth became accessible.

"Is there _any_ communications to reach her?" Florence asked.

"Yes, but not anymore." Jack started to tap his belt, where the pouch that contained the radio was. Except that the entire thing was missing. "Where's my stuff?"

Florence went to the cupboard again, pulling open the bottom drawer and taking out his missing pouches. "This walkie talkie? Drat, she must be long out of range by now."

"What do you want her to do?"

"Look for medical tech and resources, of course." She dropped the pouches back into the drawer. "Revenants are immune to diseases and can Regenerate themselves, but our local mortal patrons don't have that luxury. We are running dangerously low on supplies to treat the injuries. When they start catching bad flus, their next cure is becoming one of us instead of ingesting drugs." 

"I'll be sure to pass words on the next time they get in contact range."

"You better do that as soon as possible." She looked out of the doorway. "Dominic is the first one, but he was getting to that age. Surprised that he still wants to live in this shithole as a Revenant." She turned back. "Said he was ninety-six. Grandpappy looked like he was in the sixties. Can you believe that?"

Jack figured she had calmed down enough. "How long do I have left?"

Florence sighed at the question, anger dissipating into…_'Pity? Sympathy?'_ And looked at her datapad. "Two month, at best."

"That can't be…" Eva said.

"In which you basically lie on that bed for the rest of your time. I can't say much for the rest of your body—because whatever occurring to you isn't happening on the surface—but once the conversion reaches your heart, you'll die. I'm not even sure if becoming an _unrehabilited_ would save you." Florence put the datapad inside her coat. "But I doubt you'll be my good little patient and just lie there."

"There's still work to be done. I need to catch up with my backlog."

"Jack, please." Eva stopped him from getting up. "Don't do this."

"I'd listen to your wife if you want to live."

_'I need to capture Outsider before she endangers Eva.'_ "What should I not do if I want to delay the ashing effect?"

"Don't disperse. It's a God-damned miracle that your BOR parasite stitched you back together." Florence hummed in thoughts. "And don't Regenerate. It only accelerates the ashing effect. Don't use Blood Beads, Blends or any Regenerative medicines, all for the same reason."

Jack frowned. "But I've been fed Blood Beads while I'm out?"

Florence nodded. "Good point. Don't use Pre-Weeping-Tree Blood Beads."

"And I need to talk to your father."

"Dad?" Florence's tone went into confusion for the first time. "Why?"

"I need to learn more about Outsider."

"Outie? But why? She died stopping the Lost Invasion coming from the underground."

_'When did Florence and Outsider turn Successors?'_ He went through the name list in his mind. "She became a Successor. Voluntarily. One of the first ones."

Florence was taken aback. "But she told me they were going to stop an invasion! When Dad came back, he said she fell in battle!"

Jack understood immediately what happened. "So she lied to stop you from trying to find her, in case she frenzied due to the Relic of the Nerve. And your adoptive father supported it." He could see David doing so, given how responsible he felt he was to Outsider, whose corpse he had brought to Aurora for reanimation. And he would do anything to keep his adopted girl safe.

"She actually Frenzied and blew up your arm." Florence frowned as she came to the conclusion. She nodded and squared her jaw. "I want in when you go back to find her."

Her presence could turn the tide of the battle, especially if she could just freeze Outsider and put her in hibernation. "Your father will not approve you going after someone that, as you said, could permanently kill a Lost."

"Then all you have to do," Florence's coat shifted behind her, but it wasn't the wind. The Scorpion tail of her Blood Veil curled around her body and upwards, the stinger hanging over her shoulder like a snake's head, "is convince him." 

…And that was why Jack preferred working alone. Nobody tell her that she looked stupid doing that. "Fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Protagonist's party next chapter.
> 
> *Before you raise pitchforks regarding what I had done to Eva, let me just say this. When emotions are running high, people start doing or saying things before the mind process it. That's how I was depicting her, quite OOC, but that's because she's upset, angry and desperately wanting Jack to be safe.
> 
> 1 Doctor Clementine Florence is a reskinned OC protagonist for the game. I put her into this fanfic to further the Code Vein world. She is not important to the story itself, just a character to drive the plot further. She will appear in further Intermissions, as well as having a minor scene in the main story. If you like to see her appearance, click it. She was made before Accessories Slot update and definitely before the Camera update. Just imagine her having a white coat over the ensemble.
> 
> 2 In the Normal/True path, after you defeat Skull King (Frenzied Silva), a cutscene occurs that showed Silva absorbing Relics into himself, then become the Virgin Born in the process. This cutscene shows that there are 4 Relics appearing from out of nowhere. One important thing to do, if you listen to the sound, it sounds like the SK had absorbed 5 Relics. 
> 
> And if you think these Relics were from the Original Successors (Aurora, Karen, Nicola and Emily), then congratulations, you had the same line of thought as I did until I replayed NG+E several times. Take note of the Final Battle End cutscene: There will be short scenes of the Original Successors while they were resting, and their Relics floating out of their Frenzied Bodies. Depending on whether or not you count by visual sight of the Relic or by the sound of Relics being absorbed by SK, the total number of Relics that Io (True/Io-ending) took in could be 15 or 16.
> 
> Because none of the (extra) Relics that VB/Io took them in were named, I decided to give them names for the Fanfic. Nerve for Outsider (RWBY canon) and Marrow for Clementine (CV OC). There's still 1 or 2 more which are nameless, but I doubt I'll make more OCs from them *hint hint*.
> 
> Lastly, feel free to guess who Outsider is. No prizes though, sorry (lol).


	9. Vale 01 - The Living Deads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone, for those that have read and left Kudos~
> 
> There was a problem when I was writing this chapter that caused me to be stuck in a 3 weeks Block, which ended up mostly being self-betas and edits for clarity. But it's done!  
\----------
> 
> The Revenants are finally in Vale, but it was to a bad start in a new city. What are they going to do? How will those in Vale treat them?
> 
> Please, enjoy this one~

#### Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale

#### Three weeks after the Dockside Battle against Roman Torchwick

Blake Belladonna was feeling restless. Homesick.

Lately, she had been thinking of her parents, wondering what they would be thinking of her. She dropped everything to stay with the White Fang, despite the direction—violent tendencies—that the new leader, Lady Sienna Khan was taking. Under her leadership, the two species were beginning to respect each other and their boundaries. But Blake knew, deep in her heart that she had not heeded, that it had been Fear, not acknowledgement as an equal, that made the Humans acquaint with them.

Blake had tried, as hard and as much as she could, to keep a level-headedness to the actions she took, in the missions she did. But part of her worldview was shaped by the people she had worked with: Lady Khan herself at the start; Then under someone who refused to name himself and went only by 'Lieutenant'; Before working as Adam Taurus's apprentice and partner after proving herself. And as their (his) actions were becoming less savoury and more violent, coupled with excuses upon excuses, Blake found herself unable to bear what her beloved organisation had become.

It took her leaving White Fang and seeing the reaction of civilian Faunus before she realised that she was wrong and regretted yelling at her parents. The whole organisation had been twisted so far from the vision and values her Father had when he led White Fang.

_'What are they trying to do? Why the Dust?' Why Torchwick?'_

In front of her eyes, propped up by her knees while she laid on her bed, was a diary. Team RWBY had enough self-control and respect for privacy that none of the girls would ever peek into each other's personal thoughts. Her partner Yang perhaps might, given her personality, but she knew how to keep it down, especially if it was for her younger sister Ruby's sake.

It was less of a diary and more of a disguise for Blake's research into White Fang, after all. Yang wouldn't want Ruby risking her life doing all these anti-terrorism stuff. And she wouldn't blab the contents to their final teammate, Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and a priority target for the Vale Branch's organisation.

Blake knew about it because she had the hit list. Targets to kidnap or take out for the _betterment of Faunuskind everywhere_. White Fang…Adam knew she was coming to Vale as a student of Beacon Academy, which told her that he, or likely the organisation, had a spy there with access to classified information.

"White Fang…" Her finger traced the cut-out pasted in her book, stopping on the starting point at the top of the white circle, before slipping onto the picture of a wolf-dog within the circle. The old picture of the White Fang, back when her Father was the High Leader. Back when it was peaceful and promoting Unity.

_"Look at this, Blake."_ Ghira said to a young Blake, so many years ago. From the highest point in Kuo Kuana, both daughter and father were looking out across the city. _"All of these, created by the hands of our people.”_ He was so happy then, and proud of everyone who had settled on Menagerie. Father pointed towards the horizon. _”Across the sea, Humans had built even bigger buildings and greater safety. Imagine what both our people and the Humans could do, if we are together.”_

It was his goal, his dream. The real reason why White Fang existed in the first place.

Needing to distract herself, she discarded the book to the side. The Team's room was devoid of the other girls, each having gone off to do their own things to occupy their time until lunch. Seeing that none else was in the room, Blake took her time to use the bathroom to freshen up. As she finished at the end with a face wash, she heard the room's door being unlocked and opened, and left open when she failed to hear the closing sound. Blake tied up her ribbon to her ears, checking the mirror to be sure she had done it up right before reaching for the bathroom door.

When she exited, she saw her team leader, a black-haired fifteen years old girl named Ruby, standing by her teammate, Weiss's study table. On the table was a binder left opened, which contained information about various stores and activities that Vale would be hosting during the Vytal Festival. Weiss obtained flyers and brochures during the semester break when she left Beacon to check out Vale, methodically adding information on them into the binder.

But looking at the state of Weiss's table, Blake reckoned that her teammate was going to blow a gasket at their team leader. Several stick-em notes and separate papers had already been taken out, left underneath a stained drinking cup that was used as a paper weight. Ruby's hands and fingers were still moving deftly across the currently opened page, attaching blank pieces of stick-em notes over Weiss's words before writing and drawing things on the sticky paper.

"Ruby?" The girl raised her head in surprise at Blake's voice. "What are you doing?"

"Hey Blake!" Ruby wore a big, happy grin across her face. "I just thought of a wonderful plan for the last day of our semester break!" She was waving a red marker pen to her side. "Everyone's going to hear about it later!" Blake had not seen Ruby smile since the Emerald Forest incident and her burdened heart lightened at the sight of it. 

Blake knew how terrible a Human could be, the blatant racism and despise for Faunuskind were all-too common. Blake had first-hand experience when she was but a child, naive and curious about the dark side of the world that her parents tried to shield the younger her from. But her childishness had won out that day, sneaking out from the Belladonna household to meet with Adam and visit the dockyard. It had been an unforgettable day, not one that she would ever recall with fondness.

But until the Emerald Forest trip, she just hadn't realised just how far a Human could take those emotions and actions, even against their own kind. _'Poor JNPR…'_

She blinked, returning to the present and eyeing her team leader. "And I suppose it has to do with the Festival?"

"Psh, nope. It's for today!" Ruby turned back and closed the binder. Blake could see what her leader had done to the cover. And it was not good. "There's still some things I need to plan out." Ruby tossed the marker into the holder with the other stationery, then took the binder.

Blake was afraid to ask, but she had to. "Does Weiss know that you're appropriating her binder?"

Ruby just giggled and went to the door, the kind where she tries to laugh off her confusion. Maybe she did not understand the word. "I'll see you guys at lunch later! By the way, Rin said 'Hi!'" And off she went, like the hurricane that she was, closing the door silently behind her despite the energy she used.

Blake sighed. Then smiled. _'At least she looks much better again. Perhaps until Weiss sees what she has done and chastises her. Though, I wonder who this mysterious 'Rin' is...'_ Blake had not seen this person, but Ruby had enthusiastically explained, just last week, that the named girl was a fellow weapon-enthusiast as well. They had been trading notes and Ruby was helping her work on a project. So Ruby now had someone that shared the same passion. _'Does Yang know who she might be?'_ Maybe her partner did. She was the kind of person who would happily stalk her sibling for something like this.

—————

#### Beacon Academy Infirmary, Kingdom of Vale

#### 18 days after leaving Gaol of the Mist

It had been eleven days since they entered the Kingdom of Vale. Eleven days since Shiva had fallen unconscious after she accessed her own Vestige at the Port. Not once had she stirred from her state after they managed to stop her Frenzy.

And it had been ten days since their state of 'health' was realised by the Living.

It was a whole load of medical mumbo-jumbo that Yakumo would never understand, but their apparent unliving bodies had the Vale Hospital's doctors scrambling in fear—and need—for studies and research. If the mad doctor had not yelled out loud during their—entirely unnecessary—operation, they might not have known what they were going to do and be able to stop the medical personnel before the unthinkable occurred. Then it had devolved to a half-day long stand-off between the Revenants and Vale's finest: Hospital security guards at first, then Police forces before a team of Professional Huntsmen came.

With the Huntsmen team came an older man named Ozpin, who introduced himself as the Headmaster of Vale's Huntsman academy called 'Beacon.' After listening to a short explanation by Louis, he settled the deteriorating situation by offering sanctuary in his academy. Surrounded by armed, hostile people, all of them rearing to eliminate the _Grimm Spies_, Louis had little choice but to accept the offer. They stayed in the hospital room, disarmed by the Police and under guard by the Huntsmen team, while the Headmaster went off to inform the relevant authority. Luckily for the Revenants, Ozpin kept his words and they relocated to Beacon Academy the next day, where Shiva was admitted into the infirmary for recovery, under the care of the Academy’s Medical Doctor, an elderly retired ex-Huntress named Thumbelina Peach, who also doubled as the Academy's Professor for Plant Studies.

Other than the good Doctor, the other faculty to visit the infirmary for business was Professor Glynda Goodwitch, a middle-aged woman with fading blonde hair who was also the Assistant Headmistress of Beacon. Her reasoning had been fair: She did not trust the Revenants, especially since they were the literal _Undead_, something that should have been a medical-impossibility, until their arrival in Vale.

Despite everything that occurred, Yakumo was surprised at how _quiet_ the entire thing had gone down. He expected the disgruntled doctors to pressure Headmaster Ozpin for blood samples, or for the Police and Huntsmen to kill the _Grimm Spies_, like how some of the older films had shown back in Gaol. But there was no headlines or special news cover on the daily news channel, nor any untoward repercussions to their beings. In other words, there had been a significant lack of an outcry over their…_uniqueness_.

_(There was a third, regular visitor to the infirmary: A redhead student named Pyrrha Nikos. She was uninformed of who they were, only that their friend was comatosed and admitted into the infirmary for recovery, a similar state of health to the person she was visiting daily. The person in question was her Team’s Leader, a blonde kid named Jaune Arc, who had been in the infirmary for the past few months since a training accident. Pyrrha had not asked Yakumo any questions about Shiva, passing only greetings in respect of courtesy, so Yakumo did the same and asked nothing. Her two other teammates, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, did not offer an explanation to their leader's state either, deferring to their second-in-command for that decision.)_

On the first day in Beacon, right after arrival, Yakumo and Rin had accompanied Louis to talk to the Headmaster in his office atop the Cross-Continental Transmit System (CCT, T for Tower). Mia was allowed to remain by Shiva’s side in the infirmary that day and followed Doctor Peach as she set up the medical stuff and inducting Shiva as a patient. In the Headmaster’s office, it was mostly Louis leading the talk and questions, trying his best to get the Headmaster to understand the Revenants. Few things were decided by the end of that discussion before the group was sent away. Led by Professor Goodwitch, they went to a dormitory temporarily assigned for them to rest.

_(Though, by the third day, none of them were using the room, opting to stay in the infirmary to watch over Shiva. Professor Goodwitch had not been happy to find that out, but Headmaster Ozpin had been willing to let it slide: There were more cameras available in public to watch the party in both the waiting room and the infirmary than along the hallways of the dormitories.)_

As Professor Goodwitch issued to the three of them a handphone device they called ‘Scroll’—which she used to unlock the door via a scanner pad by the side of the door—Louis asked her about their gears that the Huntsman team had confiscated. She had assured them that their equipment was transferred under the Academy’s care, revealing Rin's backpack had already been placed in said room. But their weapons would not yet be returned to them until the Headmaster gave his consent. After a quick warning that they were confined in the campus ground until the situation was sorted out, Professor Goodwitch bid them a good night and left.

They immediately discovered a major problem: Their remaining supply of Blood Beads were gone from Rin's backpack, including Shiva's Amber Bead, likely taken away by the Huntsmen team. There were other items missing as well, notably their vials and blends, but those had lesser impact for the Revenants than the Beads do. There might not be much remaining, but they could have sustained the Revenants for several months if they did nothing strenuous. Now that their Beads were missing, they were in a precarious situation.

Over the week and a half, Louis had gone to meet the Headmaster a few times more. The first had been inquiring about their missing items, but Ozpin had denied going through the backpack. Which meant the Police forces of Vale had taken them, as their belongings were held by them for a time before they were turned over to the Academy. Louis appealed to the Headmaster to retrieve their missing items from the Police, but thus far there had been nothing.

Their other conversations had been about the Gaol of the Mist and the people inside. As with their goal, Louis was seeking help from the Headmaster, but the entire issue was a whole lot more complicated than they had originally thought. _”Logistics,”_ Louis had said, _”problems stemming from displacing thousands of estranged people, effectively refugees into a single city.”_ They had not even begun talking about the politic-side of things. As well as their own current issue.

Mia had found Team BRNZ while she was exploring the Academy grounds in the previous days and she brought them to the infirmary to see Shiva. It was a messy affair of a sort, with Doctor Peach controlling the place and only allowing a couple of them inside at a time. After their short visit, BRNZ all but dragged the girl out to explore the Academy, as the Revenants were confined to the campus. Yakumo stayed behind to watch Shiva, as they had decided that someone should stay with her until she regained consciousness. Like every evening at Beacon, she returned late at night to the infirmary, right after having dinner with BRNZ in the cafeteria. But she came bearing a comic book for him as a gift this time, before promptly falling asleep at Shiva's side, seated on the visitor's chair and resting her arms and head on the bed.

Rin was taking advantage of Headmaster Ozpin’s generosity and had been using Beacon Academy’s armoury and their resources, under the care and watchful eyes of Harold Mulberry, the Academy Weapon Crafting and Upkeeping Professor. She was planning to rebuild Queenslayer, though she was thinking of incorporating the outside world’s methodology into the new Queenslayer. She seemed to have befriended another student from the Academy as well, a fellow weapon-enthusiast and engineer that had been both teaching her about the weapon-shifting and helping her in the building process.

As for Yakumo himself, Headmaster Ozpin had met him alone twice: The first time, three days after being transferring into Beacon, was to inquire about his own background and combat experience; The second time was to grant him a temporary Huntsman License, which led to the Headmaster hiring and assigning him as a security guard. Oni-Bane was returned to him for his new job, along with a set of Beacon Faculty uniform, as well as an introduction to Professor Ann Greene of Stealth and Security, mainly for the latter. It was not too different than back when he was with the gang in the past, except that he was now protecting youthful students that are armed to their accessories.

_(It was an eye-opener when he saw a second year female student's handbag transformed into a minigun. The average student teams were better armed than he was. How and what was he supposed to guard?)_

Unlike Rin and Mia, Yakumo found himself associating with the faculties instead, sitting with Professor Peter Port and Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck whenever he passed by the cafeteria during lunch or dinner timings in the midst of his patrols. Veiled behind his seemingly egoistic boasts and feats of strength, Yakumo could hear the tragedy that Peter witnessed or experienced. 

_"—rescuing the damsel and her one child—"_ Too late to save the husband and only-Peter-knew how many children. 

_"—ran at the sound of our arriving Bullhead towards the settlement—”_ A settlement lost to the Horror—Grimm before they could reach it in time.

_"—finally sending those prey fleeing before my very might!"_ A much nicer story that he shared about a caravan escort, though not without any casualties.

Overall, Yakumo liked Peter Port. Exaggeration aside, the portly Huntsman was a fine teacher and friend to exchange stories with. He would easily be Yakumo's favourite lecturer were he a student here. The kind that looked at the positives instead of harping over the 'what if's.

Doctor Oobleck was an experience. The historian could talk a mile a minute, often vocalising his own thoughts about a particular subject before digressing back. He was polite in inquiring Yakumo subjects about the Gaol, though a little aggressive (which he apologised for. He was simply excited about a completely cut-off civilisation from the Grimm Continent making contact with the outside world). He was also open to answering Yakumo about the 'outside world', though the historian had left more questions than answers.

_ "—popular belief that they were created by the deity known as _God of Darkness_, but physically, no one knows of the reproduction process—" _

_ ”The Moon had always been shattered." _

_ "—never been a major earthquake beyond the seismic scale of five within the last one hundred years among the four kingdoms. Mineral and Dust deposits were uncovered, but never ruinous stalagmites or 'Thorns'. The 'Great Collapse' that ruined your city sound closer to a  _ Semblance_ than a natural disaster, albeit one on an unprecedented scale and power…"_

_ "—good people. It is incredibly disappointing how Humanity continued to hold such prejudice towards Faunus. Their lack of understanding and fear of the unknown is almost—" _

Yakumo got no true answers for the heated questions from the historian. At the least, he learned that the racism towards the Faunus had not been a universal consensus, but on an individual basis. 

How could people simply hate each other for being different when there was a greater enemy threatening their existence right outside their very walls? His gloves protested in their leathery tension as Yakumo frowned at the sight of his friend still asleep on the bed.

Just a glimpse at Shiva's past had shocked him a great deal when he finally processed what he saw in the last moments. He could empathise with the tragedy, but it was the people in her vestige that caused the greatest distress. _'Children…How could anyone hate anyone enough to harm innocent _children_?'_

_'What did the Faunus ever do that made Humans hate them for existing?'_

_'Was there any Faunus in the _Old City_?’_

_‘Was there any other Faunus in the PG?’_

Those were the questions Yakumo continued to ask himself since he was able to sit down and contemplate, long after they settled into Beacon. He had not shared those thoughts with the rest of the party. He knew it would inevitably lead back to what he saw in Shiva’s vestige and, as he respected Shiva’s privacy, he did not want to discuss it yet. He planned to talk to Shiva once she had woken up from her coma.

If she wakes up from her coma.

His Scroll vibrated, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was from Louis. He hadn't returned to the infirmary last night. “Hey Louis.” Yakumo guessed that Louis was going to look for the Headmaster once again.

And he wasn’t disappointed. _“Morning, Yakumo. I’ll be meeting with Headmaster Ozpin again. Vale's Council is going to call him and he wants me to be there to appeal to them directly. I’ll let you know the result as soon as possible.”_

"Got it. Have you seen Rin yesterday?"

_"No. She's pulled another all-nighter again."_

"Heh. She doesn't know when to stop once she's in her element."

_"How about Mia?”_

“Out with Team BRNZ last night. She’s sleeping here.”

_”And Shiva?”_

“Still the same.”

Yakumo heard the sigh. _”Alright, I’m heading up now. Keep me posted."_

“Will do.”

Ending the call and checking the time, Yakumo realised that it was about time to start his daily morning patrol. He rose up and stood at the end of the patient bed, looking from Mia to Shiva. Like every morning since her collapse, Yakumo mumbled a plea to their comatosed friend. “Come on, wake up. Don’t become a Lost like them.”

—————

_"Will do."_

Louis stared at his issued Scroll for an extra moment, watching the touch screen flickered from Yakumo's name and number to the default home screen. He sighed again, frustrated by so many things on-going since their arrival in Vale. The constant questioning, the shifty sights by the Huntsmen that were set in their thoughts, their current Bead issue, Shiva…

He should've stopped her from handling the vestige. He knew what would happen if she—if any Revenants tried to handle a vestige. He already knew what had happened to her the last time he saw her in the Provisional Government Hospital. Yet he still paused long enough for her to take and access the vestige, as if she was still a Successor. 

When did he become this indecisive again? It was Cruz all over again, her pleads to stop her when she was losing her sense of self were disregarded by him, held away by the blind hope he had that she would pull through.

The chime of the elevator's arrival brought Louis back to the present. Inhaling a heavy breath, he kept away the handphone and headed up to Ozpin's office at the top floor, thinking of the words and ways to appeal to the group of people that could make the rescue or assist happen. And they need it fast! At the time they had left Gaol, they were running out of everything: No more fuel meant no more electricity and power; No raw materials and refining industry meant equipment and machineries were breaking down and falling into disrepair; Dying lands meant food production, both quality and quantity for the Living were at an all time low, even with severe rationing; medicines were running out without said factories to produce them.

And then there was the tribal-territory stuff, Revenants attacking Revenants and having Blood Slave rings…

Louis really thought that people would have each other to survive after everything that had happened and explained, but animosity towards Silva and the Provisional Government, both during the Operation: Queenslayer and the Blood Bead tax, continued to run high. Their hatred ran deep. The tribes were mainly controlled by Revenants that woke after the Operation but were then hit with the harsh reality of surviving Lost and Blood Frenzy, but Louis had met a group with older Revenants at one time.

And the Blood Slaves…The girl they rescued so long ago, as well as Eva, were just two of the tragedies stopped, out of the hundreds still happening. Despite Io's sacrifice and the abundance of Blood Beads available, monstrous Revenants still continued to torment and drink from the Living. _"Living Blood is a bloody delicacy."_ A returned Revenant named Andrew Alfton told him. _"Kinda like enjoying a fine wine after having nothing but crappy moonshine for a long damn time. They're not doing it to survive. They're doing it because they fucking can, power and shit like that. Probably just to shit on Silva too. Fucking savages."_

Louis lightly slapped his face. It would not do to go into a meeting and appeal with an angry visage.

The elevator exited right out into his office with a very spartan setup within. Located inside of a Clocktower, observable gears and machineries could be seen working from the ceiling, muted and silent by the open-air design of the room. Four pillars were evenly-spaced apart near the walls, out of the way of foot traffic and the aesthetic design of the floor. There was a small table to the side, on top of it was a potted plant and an electric kettle. The other side of the room from the elevator was a long, curved glass table filled with more gearwork design, where Headmaster Ozpin and his deputy, Professor Goodwitch were standing at. A Haptic-Hologram screen was floating above the table, with three silhouette figures motioning with their body figures as they talked to the older man known to him as Headmaster Ozpin. _"—coincide with the increase in crimes!"_

Louis hoped they were not talking about them. Self-defense was not a crime, not unless these people had skewed views. "Yet coincidence is all that it was." The Headmaster must have seen him in his peripheral vision. He subtly raised an open palm—the universal sign for 'Stop'—in his direction, before turning it towards the screen without breaking his reply to the people on the screen. Louis stopped beside Professor Goodwitch, giving her a nod in greetings, which she returned. "You have read the reports. The location and timing of their appearances simply do not link up in timeline with Torchwick's spree of robberies."

_’These people must be the Vale’s Council group’_ Louis could not tell much individuality from the silhouettes. He wondered why a group of civil servants would hide their persons from the public. _’Or maybe from us instead?’_

_“What about our defenses?”_ The one to Louis’s right raised from his seat and leaned forward, towards the centre of their table. _“We got the reports of multiple attempted incursions! I have security stations urgently requesting for additional resupplies! Already, we are dipping into our reserved stockpiles."_

"The Grimm's attempts to invade us happens all the time. Thus far, there isn't anything out of the ordinary in the Grimm's movement." The Headmaster sighed. "Unfortunately, Beacon Academy does not hold stockpiles of munitions for field work, much less for the required amount used in the defenses at the walls. Our field-training teams have been, since the beginning, taught and made to keep track of their own supplies and maintain them.” He tapped the table and, visually observable by Louis, a screen popped up in front of them.

_‘What kind of academy is this?’_ Louis was mildly surprised at the pragmatic approach that Headmaster Ozpin used for his students. Though it also made him glad, about the existence of Gaol’s Red Mist. Louis had not known, in the earlier days of talking with Headmaster Ozpin, about the frequency or ferocity of the Grimm’s assaults. But listening to them talking about Vale’s defense made him truly appreciate Silva’s and Io’s sacrifices.

The figure at Louis’s left made some hand movement. The silhouette did not transmit the actions well. _“It’s my jurisdiction. Unfortunately, we still rely heavily on the victims somehow reporting to us the crimes that were taking place right at those moments. By the time my forces made their way there, the criminals were already gone with their bounties.”_ The sound of a fist slamming onto the table was perfectly transmitted. _“Just what the hell were my patrols doing! Twenty-two Dust robberies within the last half year! Two were stopped not because of my officers, but because of your Trainees. And how did the White Fang get their hands on airspace clearance?”_

_“Oum damn it, we’re not here to talk about that! The _Revenants_!”_ The man in the centre held his colleagues down by their shoulders and took the stage. Louis had wondered if the Councillors were going to talk about them. _“We have the literal walking _dead_ in our midst! And you are harbouring them instead of executing those soulless beings, Ozpin! Just what the hell are you playing at?”_

Louis frowned. How rude! Just because they were once dead, it did not mean they were soulless.

“Their bodily statuses are…unique, but the core concept still remains the same.” The Headmaster replied, then tapped the haptic keyboard again. “They still have their ‘Soul’ in them. They have ’Aura’. Which, as you know, the Grimm do not possess.” He took a sip of his mug from the table. Louis could smell the chocolaty fragrant from it. “The Revenants are unique individuals that still proves the age-old concept of the _mortal_ beings.”

_Soul_ as a noun was easily understandable. But _Aura_ was still a concept Louis was struggling to understand. He had never heard of the power of an 'Aura' before they arrived in the hospital. None of them, save for Shiva, had Aura. He did not even know Shiva had Aura until the doctor said something! He was still bewildered by that surprise.

_“Then what are we supposed to see them as, Ozpin? Their bodies are dead! The only existing non-living creature on Remnant is the Grimm! And these ones drink _blood_, for Oum’s sake! We wouldn’t even have known of their _dietary needs_ if we hadn't checked what were in those orbs before destroying those abominations!”_

Now Louis knew why there had been nothing done by the Headmaster about it and he was furious. He might have just stewed in anger if it was just the Beads, but they had Shiva's Amber as well. Io's memento. Goodwitch's disciplinary stick was slapped on his chest before he even knew he had moved forward. "Don't." She warned. "You need them." 

_'The people in Gaol need them.'_ Louis clenched his fist and bit his lip. He steamed in anger and silence.

Ozpin continued the talk with the Council all the while. "While they do drink blood, they do not do so by directly attacking the innocents. Those orbs, you called them, are called 'Beads', which I have been enlightened that they were harvested like ripened fruits from trees grown uniquely in their location. It is very much civilised." 

The Bloodsprings. Louis had shown a photograph of the Bloodspring taken from a long time ago, when he had to explain to the Headmaster why the Blood Beads were so important to the Revenants. He had scrutinised the picture, admitting and agreeing that it was something he had never encountered before. Not yet fully trusting the Headmaster yet, Louis managed to halt any further questions about the origins of Bloodsprings by plainly showing him more pictures of the devastated, ruined city that the Revenants called home, citing that they had no equipment to fully study them. Ozpin accepted the explanation.

Headmaster Ozpin sipped his cocoa drink once more as he spoke further. "But I have to inquire about it: You stole from our guests and destroyed their belongings?"

_"We search for contrabands. Drugs. Controlled items. It's SOP. Those Beads are suspicious items, before we even know what they were."_ The one Louis presumed to be from the Police force explained. _"We would've kept them as evidence, as you know it Ozpin. But we received disturbing reports about them from the hospital labs, not just the Beads, and a strong recommendation to destroy all of them."_

"And why is that? While I am under the impression that they are merely fruits, my guests had admitted that they had a severe lack of resources and equipment to properly study it."

There was a rustling of papers. _"Undiscovered pathogens with unknown effects. They aren't even completely Human Blood, which lend credentials that they are not of Human origins. Or Faunus. But whatever they were, they are a highly invasive biological substance. Causes necrosis in healthy bodies. Burns itself out when exposed to air after an unspecified amount of time, so highly combustible. Possibility of brainwashing subjects…If the labs did not confirm that they are Blood of some kind, I'd call it a drug. It still is."_

"Hhmm, interesting." Headmaster Ozpin commented as he crossed eyes with Louis. He roughly knew why the Blood study had shown something like that: It had to do with the BOR Parasites, which generated its own blood into a Revenant's body and assumed control. Something that he had not told Ozpin yet as it was also a Revenant's absolute weakness. "So you have removed every existence of the Beads?"

_"I did, yes—"_

_"It's for the best of our people."_ Xenophobe cut in.

_"By the way, Ozpin."_ The Officer continued with a raised voice, ignoring the comment. _"I require a team of trackers."_

Ozpin focused back to the screen. "What is the issue?"

_"Missing items with no discernable entry or exit into our safe room. My best men could only narrow it down to Semblances at work."_

Ozpin hummed in thought. "Very well, I'll go speak with you after this. There is one more matter. As I had informed you earlier last week, our guest would like to speak with you."

_"If it is about getting more of their monsterkind here, they can forget it."_ Xenophobe shut Ozpin, and Louis's hope, down. _"Better that these Living Deads remain away from the populace before they spread their diseases and infect more of the Living into their Undead ranks."_

“You should at least treat them respectfully as a sentient race, Council.” He was looking towards Louis now, probably gauging his reaction. Louis sighed. Ozpin blinked and returned to the screen. "And what of the Living individuals? Mr. Amamiya had stressed about their dire situation and their inability to sustain them."

_"They're probably all infected and brainwashed by whatever these things drank. How else are they surviving on the Grimm Continent!"_

_"Now now, there is no need to throw around accusations."_ The Councillor who worried about the city's defenses and dwindling supplies of munitions spoke. _"None of his people have done anything untoward us. As Ozpin said, they're a civilised group of people. They're even minor celebrities for that Vacuo Shipping Vessel for saving the crew and passengers from a Sea-Feilong. At the very least, we could hear him out, as well as learning more about their culture regarding their Practice."_

_"That is no culture nor practice, that is an abomination!"_ Xenophobe made his opinion clear. _"Ozpin, if you wouldn't deal with them, then we'll get someone else that places the safety of the people as their first priority! I'm sure General Ironwood will do what needs to be done."_ With the last words said, Xenophobe cut the call.

Headmaster Ozpin sighed and shook his head, before turning to a baffled Louis. "My apologies, Mr. Amamiya. I had hoped that they were clear-headed to listen to your plea for help."

Louis was in disbelief. "How is this kind of person a part of your city's decision maker?" The man was clearly narrow-minded and refused to listen.

"He is worried for the safety of our people. He could have phrased his words better, but he is largely known for his extreme views and bluntness." Headmaster Ozpin tapped a few keys and brought up several documents with pictures attached. Louis could identify some were photos of Shiva, more accurately her hand, a foot, her cat ears and a double-helix which he assumed was his friend's DNA structure. And all of them had highlights and details pointed at different parts. "Your Revenants' existence is defying modern medical science and logic, and they fear what they do not understand. They tried to draw connections to what they knew to give themselves a sense of control."

"We're not Horrors." Louis hotly reiterated. Headmaster Ozpin simply kept up his smile. "We're not Grimm." He amended. 

"That is without any doubt. I do stand by what I said." Headmaster Ozpin manipulated the screens and pulled up one which had an outline of Shiva judging by the cat-ears, but the outline was bathed in sky-blue colour. Darker hue lines creeped throughout her body, ending with a spot of ocean-blue in the centre of her chest. 

Louis's heart skipped a beat. It was exactly where the heart was! _'Did he find out about the BOR parasite?'_

"Do you know what an 'Aura' is, Mr. Amamiya?"

The Headmaster's question threw him into a loop. "No, sir." He breathed. He hoped it was a coincidence. "We haven't heard of it before until we're at the hospital."

Headmaster Ozpin nodded. "To put it simply, Aura is the manifestation of a person's Soul. Only those with a Soul could ever have an Aura, including bona fide animals. The only known species known to not possess a Soul is the Grimm." He minimised Shiva's blue-glowing outline to the side and brought up two outlines: one was a dog—was that a corgi?—and the other a Beowolf. The former was glowing like Shiva's image was, though without any criss-crossing of lines. The latter remained dull. 

Louis nodded. "To have an Aura is to have a Soul. And Grimms are Soulless. But we don't have an Aura." Though Shiva seemed to have gained hers after they had arrived in Vale.

"While I do meant that every being with a Soul has an Aura, to be able to wield its power you need to have it unlocked." Headmaster Ozpin switched the images again, now a Human and a Faunus with a tail dominated the screen. Both of them could have been anyone. "Even without it unlocked, a person with a Soul will have Aura, albeit tiny and unnoticeable."

The focused images faded into outlines. In contrast to Shiva's full-body glow, there were only a faint dot on both outlines at the centre of their chests.

"It may seem small, but that isn't what truly matters. What mattered is that it is there." Headmaster Ozpin closed off all the additional windows except for Shiva's. "And as Ms. Demilyn has clearly shown us, even the once-dead has their Soul intact. You and yours aren't Grimm, in that sense."

Something felt strange when the Headmaster said it and Louis consciously lifted a hand to his heart. "So we do have a Soul?"

"I believe so, yes."

The words lifted some form of stress that Louis did not realise he had, feeling less burdened by a seeded question he never quite noticed he had. The question of whether or not a Revenant had their Soul, or if they were just empty vessels operated by the BOR Parasites in their heart.

Then Louis blinked. He thought back to a mere few seconds before. "I'm sorry, but what did you just call Shiva?"

"Hhmm," the Headmaster gazed from the screen to Louis, "I was under the impression that all of you have a strong camaraderie. Did Miss Shiva never introduce to you her background?"

_'Ah, I see.'_ "No, though no fault of hers." Louis would have to disclose more information about being a Revenant. "When we are reviving as a Revenant, our bodies require a source of energy to resuscitate our dead cells. That 'source' is our memories." He could hear the soft, but sharp intake of breath from Professor Goodwitch beside him. It was a terrible price. He hoped it was enough as an explanation without details. "Every one of us lost some of our memories when we woke up. As far as I know, Shiva was the worst case in terms of memories lost, having only her first name to recall."

"I understand now." Headmaster Ozpin sipped his chocolate drink. "Suffice to say, Miss Shiva was a registered citizen of Vale, but unaffiliated Huntress before her sudden disappearance from the world. And in our line of work, having an unlocked Aura is a universal requirement. It is nearly impossible to survive against the onslaught of Grimm otherwise."

So Shiva came from outside of the Ruined City. They already had a guess about it when they remember the Vestige they found that had her voice from it, but now it was confirmed. And they were in her place of origin, despised by the people she used to protect. What a twist… Huh? "I'm sorry. Unaffiliated?"

"It is just a political way of saying 'Mercenary'."

Shiva was a known mercenary before she became a Revenant? It took time to build up any sort of reputation. Louis knew because of his own reputation of being known for his Crimson sword, and that was after a long time of fighting alone in the Gaol before he met Yakumo. She looked about his age, so how old would she have been when she started her career and became known prior to her death and becoming a Revenant?

The thought must have been written on his face when he heard a question. "Is there a problem, Mr. Amamiya?"

"No, sir. I was just thinking how old she would have been to be a known mercenary."

Headmaster Ozpin let out a smile. "Perhaps you could find out from or with her when she wakes. Perhaps a little exercise in searching the Remnant Network will jolt her memories back."

_'Or she could have already learned it from the Vestige.'_ It was the whole reason why they were having such a bad time in Vale. But he blamed it on his inaction as well. 

Louis shook his head. It was not the time to dwell on what was done. And as interesting as it was to talk about philosophy, he was here for the sake of those still trapped in Gaol. "What should we do now? Your Council admitted to stealing from us and destroying what would have been sustaining us. They’re bent on not helping us and there is still a large population of living beings in a dire situation." The whole debacle was a disaster.

"We are but one city with resources that could help." Headmaster Ozpin closed all previous screens to open a world map. Now that Louis could see it, he noted just how odd the world's land masses were, seemingly like they were the mythical dragons. There were four icons as well, one on each continent, which Louis remembered were the national symbols of each Kingdoms. "There are three others that have the same resources to save your people. And it just so happens that one of them will be coming to us within the next few days."

"Who would that be?" Louis barely recalled the name that the Xenophobe had named before he ended the call. "General Wood?" He could hear Professor Goodwitch's resigned sigh. 

She had been strangely quiet throughout the talk.

"General Ironwood." Headmaster Ozpin corrected him. "He is both the Council and Headmaster of Atlas. By technicality, he has even more power than I do as my counterpart in Atlas."

"The Kingdom of Atlas…That is the Kingdom that used to be Mantle, correct?"

Headmaster Ozpin nodded. Louis wondered if the General knew Dominic.

"Does he have the same prejudice as your Council?" Because if he did, Louis might as well start looking for help from the other two Kingdoms. They were running on a very tight and limited schedule now, so they had little time to get the help they needed. Team BRNZ had been a pretty good company so Vacuo could be a possibility.

They could consider returning to the Gaol as well.

"Not at all." The Headmaster's words gave him some hope. "General Ironwood is a long time close friend and an ally of mine, as well as a man of action. While Vale Council will attempt to discredit you, General Ironwood will do more than just listen to them and will want to know more. You should have an easier time talking to him in person when he arrives."

"I believe I will do just that, Headmaster." Louis meant it as he said. It was too good of an opportunity, especially with the Headmaster giving his personality a high review.

Maybe they should have followed Dominic's suggestion and simply headed to Mantle, or the newly-named Atlas. It would have saved them from all the hassles.

—————

"I think I will go and apprise my friends of the situation then. They could use some good news after all the bads since the docks."

“There is the other thing, regarding Ms. Murasame and Ms. Karnstein…”

“I haven’t asked them about that. But with our current predicament, it might never come up if we have to leave.” 

"I understand. Then I shall not hold you back any longer, Mr. Amamiya. Have a good day."

"To you as well, Headmaster. Professor." After exchanging a pleasantry bow with Glynda, Louis made his way to an awaiting elevator—courtesy of Glynda and her remote control—and left the office.

Glynda had not waited for a single second after the elevator door shut before reaming into him. "What was that all about, Ozpin?"

He switched the screen to the elevator's security camera. He noted that there were no temperings of the controls beyond selecting the first floor. "Would you care to elaborate, Glynda?"

"This!" She tapped her electronic notepad, causing four distinctive images to pop up next to the camera. Ozpin took a glance at them to see what the contents were in order to understand his deputy's outburst.

They were Aura scans of the Louis and the other three Revenants. Again, courtesy of Glynda's issued Scrolls for their—literal—inhuman guests. The outlines were completely gray with 'No Aura Detected. Subject has expired' written as captions underneath each.

In complete contrast to the supposedly deceased Shiva Demilyn's scan, which had simply had an 'Error!' written on it.

"Why would you lie to him about his non-existent Aura?" Glynda demanded. "And Ms. Demilyn's Aura is mutated beyond recognition. Neither of us had ever seen such a chaotic mess of an 'Aura' before, if it even is one. Why are you keeping the Revenants here?"

"Our charge." Ozpin simply said, knowing Glynda knew who he was talking about, as he watched Louis exited the elevator without much fanfare upon reaching the first floor. He could see, from the cameras facing the service desk, that Louis had retrieved his issued Scroll and was making a call. On a separate window, a string of numbers was saved, similar to the previous string above it.

"No Aura but living. Living with a mutation. Loss of memories…" Glynda made a short list. "Stolen Aura and Power. Do you believe that Salem is behind all of these? That Ms. Demilyn could be another one of Salem's operative?"

"It is imperative that we learn more about the Revenants. Mr. Amamiya is beginning to have faith and trust us, though he does have his loyalty to the Revenants, something I don't begrudge at all." Ozpin finally looked away from the screen. "That said, I do believe in Mr. Amamiya's genuine plea for help for his people. It is likely why he gave us some hints about the Revenants in general."

"Do I need to remind you that these people feed on Blood? And we do not have those 'Beads' or 'Bead Trees' to sustain these Revenants."

"I do believe we can come up with a compromise. Mr. Amamiya's plea is centered around helping those still alive and living. Not once had he asked to pull the Revenants out, but to supply resources to them, likely understanding that they would not survive unless they throw out all of their civility." He tapped the keyboard, bringing up a list of team names based on a specific specialisation: Scouting. "I do regret that I have neglected to check Metus Continent for the past two decades. It is time to give it a thorough once over, especially if we can do so with blessings from their own people."

"I will put together a team dossier for your perusal." Glynda volunteered.

"Consider external teams as well, including James's people if they fit." He knew Glynda would do it, perhaps even better than he did. He never did get over the loss of lives while trying to learn more about the silent fall of the Kingdom. Perhaps Glynda and James will come out with a team far more competent than he could put together, especially since these two interact with the students far more than he did.

Thinking of his losses reminded him of Amber, still trapped in a coma like both Mr. Arc and Ms. Demilyn are. He should give her a visit and remind himself why he was doing all these. He glanced at the clock: Just past eleven, going towards noon and lunch. "Let us leave, Glynda. I'll be visiting Amber first, then let's see which of our wayward students have made their way back to the Academy safe and sound for the new semester."

Glynda nodded. "I'll accompany you."

_And they would not return to the office until the next day, shortly before James Ironwood's arrival with a large military presence._

_But if Ozpin had done so in the afternoon, he would have caught something interesting happening on the infirmary camera._

—————

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the time skip and most of the chapter being an exposition as a result. Something was meant to happen, but it is being delayed to the next chapter for a smoother transition.
> 
> As for the problem that caused a 3-week Block, it was a conversation piece with Louis vs Xenophobe. I ended up deleting the whole section to get over it because I can't get it to come out right. Writing the rest became a breeze after that, though I took out an additional few thousand words for the last edits for being out-of-place and pace.


	10. Vale 02 - Cafeteria

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone, for those who have read and left Kudos and Comments~~ 
> 
> I might not reply to each and every comments, but that's mostly because I don't want to bloat the Comment section with nothing but lines of "Thank you very much!" and nothing else. I prefer replying to Comments because I need to clarify something important. I _**do**_ read and appreciate each one, thus I thank everyone in my Beginning Notes.
> 
> No true reason why it was a 3-weeks wait. I write _really_ slowly, as in I could stare at the computer/handphone screen for 4 hours in a writing day and write only 200 words or so. I apologise for that.
> 
> Super Quick Question: Was my randomly large amount of Edits and Updates spamming your Inboxes? If it's NOT, just ignore this question and don't Comment about this. I'm just worried the site is filling your inboxes with junk updates with this because I mess up a setting.
> 
> \----------
> 
> It's a Rin-focused and Blake-supplement chapter. Rin makes new friends! Albeit forced. And Blake...I'm sure you'll be fine.

#### Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale

#### Same day, 11:23pm

There was a chink on the plating. A single rust-red iris narrowed at the chink as a pointy, grooved rod was lowered slowly. Stopping just above the bronze coloured plating, the rod was adjusted by miniscule amounts of movement. Once aligned, the descent was resumed.

It fitted into the chink perfectly.

"Yes!"

The excitement proved to be the downfall of the fitted rod and half the plating. There was a _snap_ and half of the rod was stuck halfway down the hole. The other half was crushed by the plier that held it, which then dented the plating when the resistance disappeared via shearing and the user slammed it onto the surface, denting it and ruining an hour's work.

"Nnnooooo!" The assembler whined, slumped onto the chair and let the plier free-fall onto the floor.

"Murasame! Handle the tools with care!" Someone yelled from across the workshop.

"Yikes! Sorry Professor Mulberry! It's just—" Rin grumbled as she reached down to her side and picked up the long-nose plier from the floor. She hoped she had not dented the thin tool as well. Holding by one handle, the plier flicked open when she lifted it, scattering the pulverised rod-joint around the leg of the chair. She growled in frustration. "—I heard how much work goes into making a functional mechashifting weapon, but I didn't expect it to be such a pain."

"That was when you consider portability into the build at the same time." Professor Mulberry approached the workbench Rin was at and looked at the organised mess she had it in. "You're trying to cram multiple types of weapons into a single holder. Of course it's going to be a pain. Not to mention delicate."

Indeed, laid out across the workbench were different weapons that Rin wanted to incorporate into her new weapon build, each a category used by the Revenants in Gaol: One-handed Sword, Two-Handed Sword, Polearm, Hammer and a ranged weapon. If she could get the transformative system to work the way she wanted it, she could finally take a step into picking back up her strength. 

"Two Swords, a Halberd, a Hammer and a Rifle." The Beacon Professor scrutinised the blueprints she had laid out on the table. So far she had not made any of the pieces yet. She had been fiddling with the transformative mechanism in order to understand the 'how's and 'why's of it. She needed to complete it first before she could start working on the actual weaponries. "Why two swords?"

"One is a One-Handed Sword for speed and precision." Rin was using the category setup that Revenants used, although she was considering switching out the Bayonet template for a range weapon template that was from the outside world. She would have to ask her new weapon-enthusiast friend for a recommendation. "The other is a Two-Handed Sword for power."

Professor Mulberry nodded with a smile after hearing her short reasoning. This was starting to seem more like the Professor trying to make sure she knew what she was doing, rather than being confused. Given the look of her age, Rin was not too surprised or discouraged by the Professor's questioning. Her body was still sixteen, the age of her death, which was one year younger than the standard age to enter the Academy. _'Just gotta be patient.'_

Professor Mulberry pulled up the schematics of all the Queenslayer-series and placed them next to each other. As a test-build, she was going to build the mass production version for each of the weapon categories, with the exception of the Hammer. "In that case, would it not be redundant for the Halberd?"

"Not at all. The Halberd has a farther reach than the Greatsword will have, as well as the option of doing Piercing attacks with the spearhead. The Axehead has precision made in mind as well. In contrast, the Greatsword is designed with _tearing_ in mind, for shredding through armour. The Greatsword has size advantage as well, which I can use as a shield for blocking. The Halberd can't even do a quarter as well with blocking as the Greatsword can."

"Very good, you know your plans and reasoning well." Professor Mulberry looked at the Vulcanalia blueprint that she drew up one night at the infirmary, nodding with appreciation for what it represented. "And the War Hammer brings up the Blunt-force trauma and a secondary method of piercing through carapaces."

Now that she no longer had to worry about materials, Rin was going to build a real Vulcanalia. As cool as it was to swing around an anvil as a Hammer headpiece, it was not made or designed for such a use. Besides that, her anvil was meant for repairing equipment, not frontline action. The White Head of the King Taijitu would be the first and last kill her anvil will ever do.

"And finally, your range option." At this part, Professor Mulberry frowned. "This Rifle is rather archaic in design, isn't it? While I have nothing against classics, it doesn't seem like it will compliment your creation."

The Queenslayer Bayonet was not quite the weapon Rin would use. Because of the Drain system incorporated into weapons, there were little other methods for a Revenant to build and use a Rifle. There was the Burning Disaster—a heavy, flamethrower bayonet that constantly drained ichor as it spew gouts of flames—but the amount of ichor needed to power it was significant, not to mention the limited range on it.

That was her reasoning for thinking about the choice of dropping the Bayonet as a range option for her new build. "You're right, Professor. I'm actually considering asking Ruby for a suggestion." 

Professor Mulberry nodded in agreement. "I'm certain she'll give you a laundry list of options to choose from." Rin giggled.

Rin first met the socially awkward little genius weapon specialist when Professor Mulberry brought her to this workshop after Headmaster Ozpin gave her his consent to use and build, provided that she assisted in repair jobs and maintenance work for the students. And it was a fun first meeting.

_"Oh my gosh! I never thought I'd meet another person who loved weapons too!" The schoolgirl with black-with-red-tint hair and a non-regulation cloak jumped in excitement when Rin said that she enjoyed building equipment. The schoolgirl started to look around Rin. "Where are they? Are your weapons in the bag? Can I take a look? I promise I'll return them as good as new!"_

_Wow, this girl came on strong! Looking at the massively wide and excited eyes of the girl, there was only one reply. "Sure thing!" The words left her excited lips before she remembered an important detail and her own eyes widened in a panic. "Oh wait! Um, hahaha!" She scratched her head in embarrassment. "Sorry, I don't have them with me…"_

_"It's okay! We can retrieve them at the lockers! Or better yet! Just call the lockers here!" The Beacon student completely misunderstood her meaning and grabbed the little rectangle block of metal-and-glass they called a Scroll. "The lockers are equipped with a rocket engine and they can—"_

_"Woah there, Ms Rose!" The Professor escorting her to the Armoury—Harold Mulberry, Weapon Crafting and Upkeep—caught the enthusiastic pupil's hand before she could do what she was planning to. "No launching rocket lockers indoors! Besides, the locker room is just two doors away!"_

__'Wait, hold up! Those lockers have rockets? That's awesome!'_ Rin wanted to open up one of them to see for herself now. If she could apply rocket systems to the weapons, they would have an easier time tearing through Horrors and Greater Losts!_

_Thinking about their weapons brought her back to the sudden predicament: How to explain the situation to Rose? Headmaster Ozpin had requested that they try to keep their statuses as a Revenant a secret for now. _'So how do I tell her they confiscated our gears because they thought we're a bunch of Monsters?'__

_Luckily for Rin, Professor Mulberry came to her rescue and answered Rose. "I'm sorry to have to disappoint you, my star pupil, but Miss Murasame and her friends' equipment had been taken away by the Police. Professor Goodwitch is still negotiating with the Officers to transfer them under Beacon's care."_

_"What! Why?" The Star Pupil seemed shocked._

_"Think back to your Primary training school." Wait, primary _training_ school? "Signal, was it? What was the first thing your teacher hands you after you have the permission to take your gears out of school for the very first time?" Whoa! How young did these people start their training to take on those Horrors?! Are they Child Soldiers? _

_Rose took a few seconds to think back to her old school days before answering. "Err…A Provisional License?" Professor Mulberry nodded. Rose looked to Rin with a I-don't-fully-get-it look on her face. "But uuuhh…Mmm…Gah! Wouldn't she and her team already have it?"_

_It was the best explanation she could use. "We're from outside the walls. This is the first time I heard that we needed a License to carry our arms." Actually, that was true as well._

_"Aw…"_

_"It can't be helped. The law is the law." Professor Mulberry cast a side glance to Rin and gave her a what-can-you-do shrug. _

_"I hope Professor Goodwitch can get them back." Wow, this girl really wanted to know Enduring Crimson and the gang._

__'Oh!'_ Rin snapped her fingers_ 'I know how to get her back up.'_ "Well, I don't have the actual weapons with me, but how about the blueprints?"_

_Rose gasped, then grabbed Rin's hands and gave her the wide, excited eyes again. "Please! You got to show me! I want to know all about the other Kingdoms' builds as well, er…ah!" Realising what she was doing, the budding Reaper let go of her hands and jumped back. "S—sorry! What’s your name again?"_

_Rin just smiled. "No problem!" The budding Reaper was adorable. The social awkwardness when she could not talk anything else but their craft made her all the more cuter. So, just like Mia, she would introduce herself to the Reaper first. "I'm Rin Murasame, Gaol's Armourer and soldier. You can call me Rin."_

_Rose perked up. "I'm Ruby Rose, Leader of Team RWBY! If I'm calling you 'Rin', then you should call me Ruby!"_

_"Sure thing, Ruby! Nice to meet you! Now feast your eyes on these blueprints!"_

And then they spent that short afternoon talking shop until Ruby left to find her team for dinner. Most of it consisted of questions pertaining to the Drain System, which Rin had kind-of forgotten about at that moment and had no idea how to explain that without going against the Headmaster's request.

_’'Dust ReactionAry IgnitioN System…' What even is that? How did I even come up with this weird acronym? Who was the one with the bright idea to write the name in full capital letters?'_ Rin held her skull as a metaphorical headache started to form from the stress. Ruby was definitely skeptical about it, but she was happy to wait until Rin had their gears back then demonstrate how the 'DRAIN SYSTEM' worked. But until now, Rin still had no explanation for it. How was she going to explain the tube and needle that extended out from the hilt, used for powering weapon-arts and Gifts through the weapons?

"Hm, this blade has marked differences from the blueprint."

Rin was brought out of her thoughts. Professor Mulberry was handling a single-edged blade in his gloved hands, flipping it over to see the flats and back sides. She smiled. "That blade is for my friend. Her original blade was destroyed by a sea Grimm. I'm building a replacement for her."

The Queenslayer Blade had the simplest form that could be altered in ways she could take advantage of. The biggest change had been at the hilt, where it used to house the Drain system that was grafted into the Queen Steel. Rin had the bloated part sawn off and flattened that area on the new alloy, then drilled holes and cut grooves across the blade for the Drain system. She had not crafted the mechanisms yet—because that would involve Ruby asking her about the Drain system again—and had not yet finalised the 'cover' to be welded over the exposed parts. 

She wanted to ask Shiva for her input about the 'cover' before completing her new sword. Rin's plan was to construct the Dust delivery system as the 'cover' and house it over the Drain. The delivery would have three pockets for slotting in Dust Crystals which, when activated, would coat the blade with elements based on the type of Dust used, including mixes, for up to seven types of configurations (Singles, Doubles and all Three). Best of all, Rin would not have to waste anymore precious, uncraftable Chromes for transforming the weapon. 

Rin wondered how cool Shiva would think it would be when she could just switch the element types on the fly.

The new alloy she used to construct the unique Queenslayer was something she made from combining Beacon-provided Low-Carbon Steel and Queen Steel from a small ingot the remainder of Shiva's sword. The finished product might have been praised by Professor Mulberry for being a stronger alloy, but the result was dissatisfactory for Rin: A pure Queen Steel sword would have been stronger in every way. But it was all she could afford to make, as the Queen-series materials were no longer creatable. Once the new Queenslayer was fully completed, Rin would coat it with the single piece of Queen Tungsten she brought with her from Homebase, for increased strength and durability.

Rin took a sheet of white plastic and drew the Dust cover she was imagining using a piece of charcoal. "I'm going to ask her if she would like a Dust system on it. It's going to be a completely new weapon for her to learn."

"She is the one that fought the Sea Feilong, isn't it? The one that's still in a coma now." Rin raised her eyebrows at the Professor, mildly surprised at his knowledge of the event. "There are videos circulating on the Network that showed the fight. She is quite the reckless warrior."

Rin nodded, before making a grunt in agreement when she realised the Professor was not looking towards her. As far as she knew from Yakumo's accounts, Shiva had always been reckless.

Professor Mulberry placed down the work-in-progress blade, then turned to her. "It's about time for lunch now. Why don't you go ahead and meet with your friends?"

"Huh?" Rin looked to the clock, noticing that it was just past twelve in the noon now. "Wow, time flies." That meant it was time to head to the infirmary: She did not need to eat, after all. She slipped out of the chair and shed her workshop safety uniform, leaving herself in her own outfit. "Alright! Time to pack it up!"

"You will be returning here later, aren't you?" Rin nodded in confirmation. Professor Mulberry waved towards the door. "Just leave them here and go right ahead. I'll be locking up the place until I return, so no one will be entering this room without permission."

Rin tilted her head slightly. "Aren't you supposed to be watching me?" While it was not the first time he let her go without his supervision, those previous times were because Ruby was with her.

Professor Mulberry returned the head tilt. "Miss Murasame, are you implying that you will be up to no good if I'm not watching you?"

"Nope!" Rin stole that from Ruby. "I'm a good girl." And they shared a small laugh.

Professor Mulberry waved towards the door again, this time underhandedly. "Well then, don't let me keep you. Run along now."

Rin grabbed the plastic sheet with the sketch of the 'cover' from her workbench. "Okay Professor. I'll see you when I get back!"

"Enjoy your lunch!" 

No one was along the corridor as she left the workshop. Once the door had shut, Rin started heading in the direction of the infirmary, letting her mind wonder as she looked around aimlessly. Two turns around the corners later, she would find herself walking on the main road that many students were using.

_'Hmm, there's a lot of students in different uniforms today…_

Rin had been seeing students with different uniforms since the second day, but that had usually been in twos or threes. In contrast for today, she was counting in teams of students instead. The most prominent groups of teams were the students in grey jackets over white long-sleeved clothings, though it was not their uniform that now kept her attention.

_'Are they marching in formation? Yeah, they are. Wow, this is like a live performance parade.'_

Rin stood with the other students, watching as the grey-uniformed students headed somewhere not in the direction of the infirmary. The only thing missing to make this all the more serious was an actual parade music. So, rather than having to listen to music, she paid attention to conversations that the other students were whispering to each other.

"—er the top, isn't—"

"No wonder we didn't see them—"

"—ether. Atlas really keeps to their schedules."

Atlas. The Grey-White themed students were from Atlas. The name caught Rin's attention because Louis had told them about Mantle's capital change from the information he gleaned. And it would seem that they had a military-focused Academy, if the discipline being shown was of any indication.

Now Rin knew two Academies' dress codes to identify students' place of origin. She already learned from Ruby's uniform that Beacon students wore black suits over white shirts plus neckties for the males, while females wore dark brown jackets plus ribbons with a red skirt. That meant that she had two more Academies' dress codes to find out: The ones with full jackets in black that had a tiny rectangular slit under the neck plus an armband accessory; And the other that she had not seen at all. She wondered if the last Academy was going to miss the Vytal Festival that Ruby had been hyping.

Rin waited with the bystanding students until the procession was over. She had no choice: She knew only one route to get to the infirmary and it was along the path the procession came from. She stood next to the group in casual clothings, blending in with the Beacon students that forwent with the uniforms. But just before she could take a step, she felt a light hand tap on her shoulder. "Excuse me, pretty miss!" 

She turned back to reply to the person, only to blink when she saw red. Realising it was a jacket, she tilted her head up, looking above the upturned black collar, black necktie and white dress shirt to see the really tall boy's face. His blue, spike-like hair fell over his yellow-tinted goggles on his forehead as he looked down towards her with a smile. Rin returned it with her head-tilt-eyes-closed smile, feeling her day was getting better. "Hi there!" She cheerily replied. It was the first time she heard anyone complimenting her looks. "Can I help you?"

The boy lifted his hands—one to his cheat and one to his side—and began to speak. "My buddy and I—"

"Hey yo!" The sudden appearance of yellow and blue from the side surprised Rin to take a step backwards. The mismatched colour resolved into blond hair and blue eyes when she had the distance to make out the details. She was also able to see that he wore only an open-loose white jacket over his bare torso, plus a necklace of a coin with intricate carving. "Name's Sun! He's Neptune. What's yours?"

The blue-haired boy shoved his friend by his head, his eyebrows slanting inwards into a frown as he kept up his smile, albeit seemingly forced. "Sun, please." The blonde stood back, close to the wall, with his hands kept to his hip on the blue cargo pants. Rin noticed something waving from his back, then recognising that it was a tail! "Can you chill for, like, just one minute?"

_'Animal feature. That means he's a Faunus, right?'_ Rin was still learning how many different features the Faunuskind could have. "It's okay!" She nodded at them, then introduced herself. "I'm Rin.”

Sun gave Rin a thumbs-up before waving a hand in a come-on gesture at the blue-haired boy. “Come on, Neptune! I told you I know where we’re going.”

“Sun,” Neptune double-finger-guns pointed at his friend, “you’re cool and all, but you kinda ditched us?” He revealed the reason behind his concealed anger, but that smirk of his seemed to indicate otherwise. “So, right now, I like to have a local, showing us the way instead.” At 'local', he winked towards his buddy.

_'Uh oh.'_ Why would they not ask the ones in uniform? Rin watched as Sun made an 'O' with his mouth, raised a thumbs up, grinned, then stepped back. _'And what was that about?'_

Neptune turned back to Rin. "My apologies for that, Cherry Princess. I was wondering if I can trouble you for a moment to lead our wayward selves towards the cafeteria? I will be eternally grateful if you can show us the way to our destination."

Rin did not know if she should be blushing from the compliment or embrassessment from the lack of knowledge regarding the direction. She had been to the cafeteria only once, when Professor Goodwitch gave them a tour of the Academy on Headmaster Ozpin's request. A whole ten days ago! She had forgotten the route to get there. "I believe your friend said he already knew the way?"

"Nope! I totally don't!" Sun denied what he said earlier.

"I wouldn't trust him for now, in any case." Neptune crossed his arms and glared at Sun. "My team leader willingly left my teammates and I to fend for ourselves in the forests of Mistral while he went revelling in the nightlife of Vale with the local populace." 

"Dude," Sun interjected, sounding annoyed now, "it's just the training ground. You made it sound like I left all of you in a nest of Grimm."

Rin shook her head. "Anyway, I'm sorry for giving off the wrong impression, but I'm not a Beacon student." She finally clarified. "And I don't really know the way to the cafeteria. You'll have to ask someone else."

"Oh, my apologies about th—"

"That's fine!" Sun cut Neptune off. "It's lunchtime and you're heading in the right direction." He walked around Rin to stand beside her, a little bit to her back. Rin 's head turned to follow him. "Let's walk together!"

"I'm meeting my—"

"Sun! You can't just—"

"Too late!" Sun gently pushed Rin along the path the Altas students' procession had left on. "It's getting really late! Let's go!"

"Wait, what?" Rin had not resisted much of the Faunus' redirection, beyond keeping her balance. But how did she get coerced by these two people? _'Is it okay if I go with them?'_ Since it was usually Mia and/or her that stayed with Shiva in the infirmary at lunchtime, depending if Team BRNZ came to pick Mia up.

In truth, she was interested in knowing more people, but two things held her back from doing so: She had gone from interacting with familiar faces of a few hundreds of people in the same situation to seeing nearly a quadruple times more of closed off strangers that were staying within their own teams, which was fairly jarring experience different from Gaol; As well as her status as a Revenant, which had received a less-than receptive welcome from the locals since the dock. The latter reason had been the one to stop her from jumping in to socialising with them. Students visiting the workshop or armoury had mainly approached Professor Mulberry for guidance. Ruby had been the only exception to this, until now.

"I'm sorry about Sun." Neptune caught up with them. "You don't have to come with us if you have to meet with your team."

"She's still walking with us, Neptune." Indeed, she was. Sun had given Rin her personal space back after the initial push. She had just been walking along with them and thinking. "I got to ask: What's with the mask?"

"Health and safety while working in the Armoury." She answered automatically the question that had been inquired multiple times before. _'I should call Mia, at least.'_ It was to make sure that someone was at the infirmary to watch over their friend. She pulled out her Academy-provided Scroll and dialed the number from the contact list. "Let me call my friend first." She told them.

Four rings later, Mia picked up the call. _"Hello, Rin?"_

_'Weird. She sounds tired. Did I just wake her up?'_ Rin moved the Scroll in front of her mask to speak. "Hey Mia. Sorry, did I wake you by accident?"

_"No, I'm just exhausted."_ Did something happen to her? Revenants never fatigued…Not physically, at least. _"Are you coming over to the infirmary?"_

"Not immediately." Neptune and Sun had started to chat between the two of them in front of Rin as Sun led the way. And the team leader had brought them outside of the building towards another. "I don't know how it happened, but it seems that I've been coerced into going to the cafeteria by two transfer students."

_"Oh, that sounds great…"_ A heartbeat later, Mia sounded much more alert after processing her message. _"Oh! Do you need me to call Yakumo for help?"_

Rin watched the two students she was following. Sun was describing something in great detail or exaggeration, if the flailing of his arms were of any indication. Neptune spared a glance back and blushed a little when his eyes met hers, before quickly turning back to Sun. "I should be fine. We're just going to the cafeteria for lunch. And they aren't really stopping me from leaving either."

Rin heard Mia giggled. _"I understand. I know you _really_ like to make new friends."_ Rin flushed in a bit of embarrassment.

"Sorry about that day. I was just really excited when I finally met someone of my age and wanted to make friends with you." Thinking about it, the day they first met had been so long ago.

_"I'm glad you did. I really do."_ There was a lull for two footsteps. _"So, you will be coming here after your food?"_

"Yup!" Professor Mulberry would not be back at the workshop until three p.m., per usual. "Is BRNZ going to pick you up?" They visited almost daily after they learned of their problem and the infirmary stay. Mia would be the one to join them whenever they extended an invite.

_"I'm not certain, but I'll be taking a raincheck with them for today."_ Mia still sounded tired.

They were walking along a two-stories high wall intersected with glass windows. She could see rows upon rows of tables, chairs and an indeterminable amount of students seated inside and eating. "Do you want me to get anything for you from the cafeteria?"

Mia hummed. _"A cup of tea. I have yet to sample the Academy's brew."_

"Okay. I'll see you later!"

_"Have fun and enjoy your lunch."_

Rin kept her Scroll away and picked up her pace, walking beside Neptune as he listened to Sun speaking with great enthusiasm. "—were fighting side by side. She was super fast and I threw a banana at the guy, which sounds gross, but it was awesome."

"Nice!" Neptune commented.

"Anything you can lay your hands on can be an effective weapon." Rin recalled tossing handfuls of sand or dirt right into Losts' faces, blinding them for a moment before dissipating them with fatal strikes. "Blinding your opponent with potassium is as good as using sand or dirt. It's even better if your opponent is allergic to it."

"Right?" Sun nodded, then crossed his arms. "I don't think Torchwick's allergic to it though. But the best part is," he suddenly pulled his arms apart as a show of great revelation, "she's a Faunus." He leaned forward, closing the distance between herself and Neptune, and whispered. "But that's a secret, okay?"

Rin tilted her head, lost with the context.

Neptune had no issues following Sun's words. "Got it."

"And not a 'I'm gonna go tell everyone the second Sun turns his back secret'." Sun gave Neptune and Rin a stare. "I'm talking _secret_ secret."

"Whoa, chill out, man, okay? We got it." Neptune looked to Rin with a light elbow tap on her arm and stage-whispered. "We got it!"

Rin blinked, still lost. "Sure…?"

"You both better." Sun turned around, smiling wide and happy, and headed for the door, which was still a ways away.

Rin poked Neptune. "I missed the beginning. What exactly was that about?"

"My team leader had chosen to partake in an evening of vigilantism with a student of Beacon against the local terrorist group." Neptune explained. "Sun has fallen head-over-heels for the mystery lady that he helped."

"Like you're one to talk." For whatever reason, Sun glanced to Rin for a split moment for focusing on Neptune, who shuffled under the gaze. And they had stopped moving, two steps before the door into their destination.

_'Is he blushing?'_

"Look, I just don't want to screw this up, you know?" Sun admitted in an honest outburst. "The people here are the coolest! No offense to you guys." He retracted.

"None taken."

"Yup." Sun's two audiences replied respectively.

"They're just in here." He continued, pointing to the door with a backwards thumb. Then to Neptune, "I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool, okay? You're gonna be cool, right?" 

"Dude." Neptune said simply, giving his leader a smile that showed his pearly whites. Rin swore that she saw it sparkled, despite the lack of light in under the shade of the overhead shelter.

Sun nodded in appreciation. "Good point." When he looked to Rin, he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about dragging you all the way here outta nowhere."

"It's fine." Rin smiled, emphasising her reply with an arm-pump. "I'm always happy to meet and make new friends!"

Sun returned the arm-pump. "That's the spirit! Let's go!" He turned to the door and opened it.

Rin was assaulted by a wave of unintelligible noise upon entering the cafeteria: The 'clings' and 'clangs' of utensils and plates; Words exchanged between multiple groups of people; Chairs shifting as students sat at or left the tables.

_'This is…Normal. Yeah, normal.'_

Rin could not recall the time she had been in a cafeteria. It had to have been prior to her Revenant life, when she was a living person and studying in a school or college like Louis had been. She could not even recall her old, past life, either not yet found her Vestige regarding her living life or had completely lost it. Her earliest recallable partake in a feast with a group had been…

'…with the squad.'_ Seated on a broken wall, high enough that she could see her newly assigned squad members, most of them chatting with each other and busying themselves with their gears, with only her Second-in-command and one other eating something, her food offered to her by the latter. _

There was a tap on her shoulder, bringing Rin back to the present. "Are you alright?" It was Neptune.

Rin nodded. "Yup. Just recalling something."

"Are your teammates coming here?" Neptune looked over the cafeteria. "I believe the Vacuo students are gathering over there."

Rin shook her head. "They have their own prior engagements."

Yakumo should be patrolling the Academy at about this time. When Professor Ann Greene, security for the Academy came to the workshop with Oni-Bane in hand and Yakumo behind her one day, she learned that Yakumo would be working as a security until further notice. (Luckily for Rin, Ruby was not there when Oni-Bane came back to them.)

When Louis was not speaking to the Headmaster, he was spending time in the dorm studying, be it the Grimm, the four Kingdoms or the recent history. With their leave from Gaol, it would seem that they (mostly Louis) had discovered that there were certain things not adding up to what they had known in the PG's archives. If he had discovered anything, he had not shared any with them yet.

Rin stepped to the side and let a team of students pass. "I'll just be getting a cup of tea to go later." She looked up to Neptune. "Why did you think I was a Vacuo student?"

Neptune was surprised. "You're not?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Well, you're definitely not from Haven, otherwise we would've recognised you." Neptune gestured with his head towards the Atlas students, the group that had the marching procession earlier. "Atlas have a strict dress code, so I had no doubt that you aren't one. Beacon is loose with their dress code, with no rules about it during a non-school day. But you said you aren't local, and Shade is the only Academy without any dress code to reinforce…" Neptune hummed. "So, if you're not a student at all, what are you here in Beacon for?"

_'Oh…So Vacuo students are those in casual wear…Oh no! I didn't think this through!'_ Rin's heartbeat accelerated as she tried to think of something. "Erm, well…" 

Once again, it would seem that her luck shone through. Sun exclaimed "I see them, They're over there! Come on!" above the din of the cafeteria and started slipping between the rows of benches. Neptune flourished with an after-you wave of hands to Rin.

As Sun led them towards the table at the far end, Rin was able to see someone familiar: A girl stood at the end of the table, a large book opened in front of her on said table, as she gestured wildly and speaking to her audience with great enthusiasm. It was the red cloak clasped to the girl's back that clued her in on the identity of the person. "That's—"

"S'up, Team RWBY!" Sun shouted over Rin. 

Apparently, Ruby was the person—and her team—that he was leading them to. Like every team she learned about, Ruby was in a team of four. Rin could easily see two of the three that Ruby told her she led as a Team Leader. And, with the exception of the younger Leader, the all-girl team had long hair of their own styles.

The first girl Rin saw of Team RWBY was seated on the left-side of the table. The girl with white hair had it styled into a ponytail and tied to the side. She seemed to be having an awful time, judging by the annoyed face she was wearing currently. She dismissed Sun the moment she laid eyes on him after his call, looking back to the tray of food in front of her.

"Heya, nice Sunny day it is today, eh?" The blond girl with pretty lilac eyes emphasised the word as she greeted Sun. Rin could hear the groans from the all-girl team. "Ah, puns! How wonderful that you're back!"

_'Sun and Sunny…Oh, I get—ugh!'_

Rin could only see a large black ribbon poorly camouflaged on top of the black haired girl from her angle, as Ruby was standing directly in-between the line of sight. But she could hear the black-haired girl clearly. "It's good to see you, Sun. Are they members of your Team?"

"Just the cool dude at the back." Rin moved to an empty space at the side, letting Neptune step forward. "As for—"

"Rin!" Ruby finally saw her and bounced up into a hug with her. "I thought I'd never see you in the cafeteria. Save me from Yang's horrible puns!"

"Hey, my puns are great!" The blond girl—Yang yelled in indignant. "Ya'all just don't have any apprec—"

Rin finally saw the black-haired girl with the ribbon and, in a split moment of disbelief, called out in recognition.

—————

"Shiva?!" The scantily-dressed, scarlet-haired girl—apparently, Ruby's mystery Armoury friend, Rin—shouted in a panic as their eyes met, her voice distorted by the weird breather mask she wore. "What are—how are…"

While everyone was in a state of surprise—and Blake herself in confusion—Ruby shook her friend out of her state. "Eh, Rin?"

Said girl blinked rapidly for a moment, then shook her head. "S—sorry!" Rin stuttered out of embarrassment. She scratched the back of her head. "I thought you looked like my friend, who's in a coma. I apologise for that."

"It is fine." _'Shiva? Shiva…why does that sound so familiar?'_ Blake tried her best to cull her natural reaction to twitch her ears, masking it by standing up and offering a hand to Ruby's friend. "I'm Blake. It's nice to finally meet Ruby's mysterious Weapon Specialist friend."

Rin had taken her hand into a shake as she was speaking. "Nice to meet you too! I'm Rin. Ruby spoke highly of the three of you."

"Yeah! Team RWBY!" Her Leader and Sun cheered.

"I'm Yang! Rube's sister." Yang gave a thumbs up. "Not the first time I saw you though. But I rarely ever saw you outside of the workshop."

Rin blinked. "I…don't think I had actually seen you."

"Oh, that's because I secretly stalked my sister. Don't tell her though!" Yang faked a whisper, the back of one hand covering a side of her mouth as she did. That answered her own question in the morning. And she had done so while right in front of Ruby, who was fuming.

"Yang!" She screamed at her playful sister, who just grinned back. Rin laughed.

"Ahem!" Weiss staged a cough, gaining the attention of everyone. Like Blake, she stood up to properly greet the new girl. "My name is Weiss Schnee. It's a pleasure to meet you." She curtseyed.

Rin returned the gesture. "The pleasure is all mine, Ms.Schnee." At first glance, Blake would never be able to tell that the girl knew of social high-class greetings. "I'm Rin Murasame, though you and your friends may call me Rin."

_'Hmm, 'Autumn Rain'? 'Cold' and 'Severe' don't fit her personality. 'Dignified' it is.'_ Blake could not help but try and make sense of her name, after the high-class greeting came out.

"There's one more person I like you all to meet!" Sun suddenly interjected, then pulled the blue-haired, red-clothed boy in front of them. She had noticed the boy earlier when Rin stepped aside, who kept up his smile despite him having zero chances of coming into the conversation naturally after Ruby's outburst of recognition. "Neptune! My partner-in-crime and a cool member of Team SSSN!"

"Hello, ladies." Neptune said, following Sun's introduction. "First, let me thank all of you for looking out for my foolish team leader—"

The comment took away her focus on the present to the night of the docks, Roman Torchwick and the White Fang. Sun's barely heard "Hey!" was overlapped by Torchwick's yell of the same word.

"…Secondly," the word that differed from the sentence Torchwick had said brought Blake back from her flashback, "it's my pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Neptune Vasilias, his unfortunate partner."

Yang seemed less than impressed, but everyone of RWBY returned his greeting. Weiss was the only one who seemed to be further interested in him. "So Neptune, where are you from?"

"Haven, Snow Angel." Blake raised an eyebrow when she saw Weiss actually blushed by the same nickname Jaune had used on her unsuccessfully.

Weiss gestured at the empty space of the bench beside herself. "There's no need for us to remain standing whilst we learn about each other. Our Team!" She quickly added, before Yang could twist 'Snow Angel's' words into her own amusement. "Please take a seat, Neptune."

"I'll be delighted to." The obvious flirting was just barely bearable.

And Yang saved Blake the trouble of pointing it out—not that she ever would—by voicing it out loud. "Man, go get a room, you two. Just save us the juicy details."

"Ew!"

"How crude! Yang." Ruby's cry and Blake's budding Not-Safe-For-School thought were overwhelmed by Weiss's indignant shout. "I'm merely welcoming our fellow Huntsman-trainee from another Academy, that's all."

"Uh huh." Yang uh-huh'ed as she eyed the sea-themed boy. She took a hold of the tray of food—Ruby's—from the seat that Neptune took and dragged it to her side. "Sure—"

"I didn't think you'd ever have lunch at the cafeteria." Blake's hearing tuned to Ruby and her friend. "You always said 'No' when I asked, but then you came with Sun."

"I was accosted by Neptune and coerced by Sun!" Rin pulled the sheet of plastic she was carrying to her chest as she whined, but her eyes lacked the resentment for becoming the subject of forced obedience. In fact, she seemed and sounded happy. "But hey, I'm here now! Better late than never, right? And I might probably join you more often from now on."

"Yeah! And we should get your team to come too!" Sometimes, Blake was envious of Ruby's endless enthusiasm and energy. Her sight went from Ruby's sudden interest in that plastic Rin held to the fellow Faunus that was walking around the duo from the back. "So, what's with this leftover?"

"This? I drew an idea for the modified Queenslayer Sword I was building for Shiva—"

"Oh! Show me show me!"

"Hey Blake." Sun stopped by her side.

Blake nodded in greeting. "Sun. Thanks, for the other day."

"You're welcome." Sun replied. "Always happy to help knocking some sense to the bad guys."

Blake looked away from Sun's smile to the not-diary in her hand. "Misguided. They're misguided."

Something was going on with Adam's group. Blake knew how extreme he could get if it meant the death of one more Human, so for him to team up with Roman Torchwick and assist him by sending people for his Dust heists meant… _'…exactly what? Him losing his mind? White Fang having a new goal and direction? Did Sienna know? Or approved? Or ordered him to?'_ So many questions that she had no answer to.

"—stop standing there until she comes back to Remnant." Blake heard Yang said. Next to her, the sound of a hand slapping on the wood erupted twice and Blake turned her head just in time to see her partner shifting away from her, while keeping eye contact with Sun. "Come on, take a seat."

"Thanks, Yang. I appreciate it."

"Actually, I think I'm done." Blake stood up, vacating the seat for Sun, book in hand. The more she thought about the White Fang, the more worrisome she got. 

"You sure?" Yang pointedly looked at her almost-untouched tray of fish-dish. "You barely touched your food."

"Sun can have it." First time she had ever uttered those words regarding her favourite dish. She was just distressed by the happenings recently. "I'll be heading back to the dorm."

"Hey wait!" Blake ignored Sun's plea and continued walking towards the door. She could hear his footsteps as he chased after her. "Blake—hey!"

"Let her go for…" Blake heard Yang's voice just before the noise of the cafeteria drowned the rest of it. She owed one to Yang. She needed some time alone for now.

Yet alone time was not what Blake got right immediately. Just as she reached for the handle of the door—eyes fixated on the handle while her mind was working on what she knew—the door was pulled open by someone wearing armour with a golden bird insignia. With the entirety of her sight filled by the bird, Blake stopped in her track and had a change in thought. _'Oh no—'_

"Hey, Kitty Kat." The voice of the owner of the armour easily penetrated through the cafeteria's noise in her ears and filled the Cat Faunus with fear. "Fancy seeing you here."

Blake forced herself to _not_ look up, stepping right to the side immediately and out of the way of Cardin Winchester. "S—sorry." She said. "Excuse me." It might as well be a mumble with the setting. It was best to lose his attention as quickly as possible.

Cardin heard it all the same. "No problem. But what's the rush?" He followed her but moved just enough towards the frame of the door that Blake would have to push passed him to get out. "It's only halfway through lunch. Come on, join us."

Blake's hair stood right up, breaking into cold sweat. Her mind flew a kilometer a minute trying to think of something to say no. But nothing came to mind in her need to get away from him. "I—W-why are you calling me a c-cat?"

_'Why did I ask that?!'_ Blake gave herself a mental kick. _'How did he know?!'_

"Huh? Well…" The question seemed to have worked, despite her worst fear. Cardin took a step back, relenting a bit of her personal space and allowed her peripheral view to be filled with other, non-threatening sights. "During spars, you like to stay away and look for opportunities before committing to an attack. You kinda like keeping to yourself. And you could sneak away from everyone so silently and easily like it's your nature." He counted his fingers as he said the points, then finger-gun pointed at her with a frown and a grin, causing her a panic attack. "Hence, Kitty Kat, with a 'K' instead of a 'C'."

_'…what?'_ Did that mean he did not know? Or was he teasing her with a threat? "I…"

"Or just maybe," her heart pounded when Cardin opened his palm and raised it above her head, her eyes tracking it, "you have a little _something_ under those bow. _'Something'_ like that little bunny girl?"

_'Move!'_ Blake's mind screamed, but her body had been rooted with fear. _'Damn it, move! I won't become like her. I won't end up like Velvet. Move!'_

"Cardin/Blake!" Whatever spell that binded her broke when she heard her partner's and friend's voices. She finally took a step back, but tripped on her own gel-like legs and crashed into someone else.

"Whoa, careful th—"

"Cardin!" Yang yelled again, drawing her attention from her clumsy fall onto an innocent bystander. Cardin had already moved in front of her to face Yang and Sun. "You leave Blake alone, asshole."

"Blake!" Sun tried to make his way over to her. Tried. But the two of the three missing CRDLs, Russel Thrush and Dove Bronzewing, suddenly appeared in her view and stepped up in front of Sun and Yang respectively. "What the hell, move it!" Sun attempted to sidestep Russel, only to get blocked by him.

"Back off, monkey sperm."

"Sun!/Blake!/Yakumo!"

Ruby, Weiss, Neptune and Rin came up behind the other two. Sun pounced on Russel before Yang could stop him, landing a fist on the spiky-haired boy that snapped his head and body back. Russel almost went down, somehow stopping his fall midway and hopping on a leg once.

Then Russel swung back like a reversed pendulum, slamming a retaliation on Sun's jaw on the side and knocked the near-half-sized larger Faunus off his feet and back. Neptune and Rin caught the body before Sun hit the floor.

"Holy fuck! Sun!" Neptune held Sun's head up. His eyes were half-opened and rolled back. He was not moving. "Sun!"

Weiss was beside them in that instant, her scroll held in her hand. "His Aura's in the low yellow. He's fine, just unconscious."

Neptune stared at Russel in shock. "How?"

"It's concussion." Yang answered. "The chin is the furthest away from the brain. A good hit on the side can rattle the skull hard enough to cause concussion." She glared at Russel as well. "A bad hit can cause permanent damage and sometimes even lead to death."

Russel shrugged. "He struck first. Not my fault the ape-shit was weaker than he looks."

"You bastard!" Neptune would have joined Sun or worse if both Rin and Weiss had not caught his hands and stopped him. "Let me go!"

"Everyone, stop! Just stop!" Ruby was between Neptune and Russel now, her hands keeping the Haven student and Beacon student apart. She was only fighting against Neptune. Russel had not even bothered moving after attacking Sun.

And she was glaring at Russel. "Apologise." Russel snorted.

"Why should I?" Russel shrugged, then rubbed a hand on the side of his face where Sun struck him. "That chimpanzee attacked me first, but I'm in the wrong for self defense?"

"You should be the one apologising, Team RWBY." Cardin defended his teammate by getting in front of Russel to stare down at Ruby. Yang almost went up to pull her sister back, but Weiss stopped her with her other hand and some unheard words. "Teach your pet monkey better manners or put that rabid animal down."

Ruby did not back down. "Sun's a great team leader and a great friend."

"That's an even worser case for Fleabag, isn't it? Team Leader picking fights with other teams and losing. Russel wouldn't need to put that animal in its place if it was properly leashed." 

"Enough!" Blake's ears rang when an unfamiliar voice yelled above her and over all of them. She reflexively cupped her hands to her ears. "All of you, break it up!"

"Yakumo, she's with us." Blake felt her shoulders gripped by a pair of rough hands firmly and guided towards Rin. Russel and Dove stepped behind Cardin while everyone else stayed next to Sun. Ruby and Yang stood in front of the group.

"You that new security guard the Headmaster hired?" Cardin asked. This 'Yakumo' let one hand go and gently nudged her towards Rin.

"Yeah." Blake turned around to see who the security guard was: A scar-faced Human with red hair tied into a ponytail plus bangs that fell to both sides of his face, with a two-handed sword that looked like two different blades attached on a pole-like shaft locked magnetically on his back and jacket. "Yakumo Shinonome. Rin, take the boy to the infirmary."

"Got it." Rin grabbed Sun's hand.

"Rin, let me—"

Rin ignored Neptune and simply pulled Sun into a fireman's carry, then stood up effortlessly. She tilted her head towards the door. "Neptune, the door."

"R-right."

Blake followed behind Rin as Neptune led them to the door. Behind them, Yakumo started to question them. "So, mind filling me in what you boys and girls were doing?"

"I was just inviting my classmate to join us for lunch." Cardin said. His words sent shivers up Blake's spine. "Then some jealous ani—" She stopped listening when Neptune opened the double door.

Sky Lark of CRDL was slouching forward at the entrance, hands raised and about to open the door. Blake's blood froze and she stopped in her tracks.

"Excuse me!"

"R-right! Sorry!"

The blue-haired boy pulled one side of the door as he moved aside, letting Neptune and Rin pass without any altercation. Blake followed tentatively, watching Sky warily as she moved through the door.

While she was not going to pity any member of CRDL, she had to admit that Sky looked terrible. He was visibly breathing hard, audibly sucking in air through a small slit of his lips. His face was paler than usual and there was a sheen of sweat. He looked at her in the eye, tilted his head to the retreating Rin, then headed into the cafeteria, closing the door behind him.

Sky's condition had been bad since the incident in the Emerald Forest. He 'failed to cover Jaune,' according to his own team's testimonies, and incurred permanent damage of his own. Despite his condition, he still proved that he could be a huntsman and was allowed to continue his studies here. And now he looked far worse than normal. Blake shook her head and turned away, leaving to chase after Neptune and Rin.

"—are they?" Blake heard the tail end of Neptune's question.

"I don't know either. Ruby had never told me about that team before." Rin's answer had the context of his question.

"That was CRDL, or Team Cardinal, freshmen." Blake answered. "They're a team of racists that goes out their way to antagonise innocent Faunus, going as far as causing harm."

Neptune stopped in his track suddenly. "Which way is towards the infirmary?"

"Left." Rin answered before Blake and overtook Neptune, leading the way. 

Neptune fell in steps with Blake. "So why the heck aren't these assholes kicked out of Beacon yet?"

It was the question Blake asked herself once. "…They always managed to twist incidents to their favour." She looked down. "…A few students had already been targeted by them. And despite the crude ways of torturing the Faunus, it somehow always ended up with the Faunus being the aggressors and punished."

"That's the biggest rubbish I ever heard." He hit the nail on the head. "And the faculties just let them continue like that?"

Humans would always be Humans, protecting their own and leaving the Faunus to fend for themselves. Even Beacon. Blake was dispassionate by the entire system. 

"Sun is some of the toughest freshmen I've seen from Haven." Neptune was looking at Blake, disbelief written all over his face. "Just how did someone half his size floored him in one hit?"

Blake looked to the comatosed Sun. "…The Team is the strongest Freshmen team…and the strongest Beacon trainee team currently."

They were the real monsters. In strength and in cruelty.

"Damn…" Neptune said no more and picked up his pace.

As Blake chased after Neptune and Rin, a thought occurred to her that made her stop in her tracks. _'Was our method really useless?'_ Her Father's White Fang symbol came to mind. Then a bloody three-claw mark cut through the symbol and drowned it in blood. _'Was their new method right all along?'_ She leaned on the wall, exhausted.

_'Every time I see those unhappy families shunting us, I had thought we went backwards. Then I watched Velvet leave one day and never come back. And now I watch as Sun gets beaten down…'_

She looked down the path, now devoid of the two that she was following. She stood up, turned the corner, and left.

————— 

_'…_

_… _

_… _

_…dark…_

_…where…_

_…?'_

_ Welcome back. _

_'…who…?'_

_"Hello…" _

_'Yellow eyes…_

_…Silver/Black hair…_

_…Shawl/Ear.'_

_ …How are you feeling? _

_'…Up…_

_…Beautiful high buildings._

_Fires sweeping over the earth._

_Bodies laid on the streets…'_

_ Don't worry, it's okay… _

_ I don't/remember remember/it ei-/as -ther/well… _

_'…_

_…'_

_ Over there. _

_'White…_

_…Snow…_

_Up…'_

_ It's dry, isn't it? _

_'Sand…_

_!_

_…Lithe arms…_

_Half-torn cloth and a white half-gi…_

_ We can go slowly. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure you noticed how much I changed Canon RWBY scenes in 'Best Day Ever':  
1) No Food Fight, because JNPR ain't around.  
2) RWBY have different seating arrangement. With Ruby standing at the head, Weiss sat on her left (with Ruby's tray of food beside her, partner sitting with partner), Blake on her immediate right with Yang next to Blake.  
3) CRDL became bigger asshats, which led to...  
4) Blake having really bad issues with their speciesism.  
5) No Ozpin and no Glynda. I'll admit I forgot that they existed in this scene, so something will be supplemented in the next chapter (scene ended with Blake's leave, while Yakumo and rest of Team RWBY were still facing CRDL).
> 
> This chapter was also supposed to have other points: I meant to finish Mia's scene in this chapter as well, but by the time I wrote finish Rin's scene and started Blake's, it was already 6k words in. So Mia's reappearance will be pushed to the next chapter. Might be a short chapter.
> 
> One last thing, I don't think I had ever said anything about the meshing of the Crossover Universes, until Rookie2301 pointed it out as a quick question. I'll repost what I replied him from the Comment Section here, as well as editing Chapter 1 to better explain the thought process.
> 
> \----------
> 
> About RWBYverse: The history of RWBY is largely left untouched. I also won't go too deep into it (if at all, which is the main reason why it's untouched). Instead, it's the vague backstory of Code Vein that is meshed into it. Within the century and through fantasy science (as little 'It's Magic!' as I can).
> 
> However, there will be changes made to the canon RWBY (Volume 1-3). Vale 01 (Chapter 9) has spoken some of it, but it's not focused because the chapter was about the Revenants in Beacon, not the casts of RWBY. The sub-plots will start getting addressed with the next chapter, which will lead into the main plot.


	11. Vale 03 - Amber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the lateness, and thank you everyone, for those who’ve read and left Kudos!
> 
> I had a bit of a minor issue near the end that basically killed writing for two weeks or so. Multiple plot-bunnies also spawned, two of them I’ll probably post up to see if I could get them to work and to see reactions.
> 
> —  
So, I just learned that Bandai Namco released an official Character Setting for Louis Amamiya and Mia Karnstein on 7th February 2020. These include their backgrounds and families.
> 
> Now, I've started writing this since long before that. Back in Vein 03 (published 1st November 2019), when I wrote with Mia's perspective, I've stated something along the lines of 'both herself and her brother did not remember their parents, even with their vestiges restored'. I don't think I'm going to retcon that, instead I'll be continuing to play with the idea that she no longer had any memories of their parents.

#### Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale

#### 11:47pm

Mia waited until Yakumo had left the infirmary before she sat back upstairs. She grabbed the collar of her Blood Veil that was draped over her back and pulled it over her as she stood and stretched. Wrapping it over an arm, she looked around the infirmary.

Shiva remained unconscious, her chest rising and falling as she slept and recovered. Not physically, as her body was declared healthy…as 'healthy' as a corpse could be. Ma'am Peach was stumped in caring for a body 'undergoing a perpetual state of necrosis' due to blood circulation, so she had simply instructed both Mia and Rin to routinely give their friend a massage therapy to keep her muscles from declining due to lack of use, treating her like any normal patient. And Mia did just that, after leaving her Veil aside on the bed-end table.

There was the other occupant in the room, Jaune Arc. Like Shiva, he was completely healthy, yet remained unconscious without any symptoms to show for it. There was enough brain activity to show that the boy was physically fine, breathing by himself and occasionally shifting his eyeballs under the lids as though he was dreaming. Ma'am Peach attended to him for the most part, with his team coming to help irregularly, though they were forbidden from doing anything intrusive.

Once Mia had completed the massage for Shiva, she gazed at her friend's visage and let her mind wander. The woman was practically her sister and it hurt that she could do nothing else to help her. Shiva cared for her much like the way she herself did for Nicola, giving her a sense of being wanted and security that she never knew she wanted, until she learnt of Carmilla's thoughts in her Vestige.

_'Nicola… …!'_ She drew a deep breath in when she saw her brother lying on the bed, clothed in a patient robe and fitted with an oxygen mask. When she blinked after her breath, Shiva once again occupied the bed, unmoved and resting silently.

Thoughts of her brother gave her knots in her stomach. Unable to stand the sight any longer, Mia took her Veil and left the Recovery Ward.

Ma'am Peach was seated at her station, staring at the computer screen as she ate her lunch from a prepared box. The Professor turned to Mia as she exited the room. "Finally awake?" She commented, which Mia returned a nod to. "You should go and get your lunch before the crowd starts forming. All the transferred students coming in today will hog up the line if you don't hurry."

Mia shook her head. It was the wrong move to make because it made her nauseated. "I'll just be staying here. I don't need to eat."

"You should at least have _something_." Ma'am Peach ignored her words and took out a small package and slit it towards Mia. When she picked it up and read the label, she found that it was a pack of biscuits.

Mia sighed quietly. "Thank you." She bowed to the Ma'am, who waved her off, then made her way to the Waiting Room, taking a seat at the empty table. Even though she was given it, she did not feel like she could eat it. So she left the biscuits on the table and simply waited.

Rin should be coming soon, joining Mia and waiting until lunchtime was over. May told her yesterday that she might be swinging over with her team if she could get them away from the arcade. Mia appreciated their company, though with their—Mia and May only—latest outing just yesterday, she felt drained when they explored the sights of Vale.

Her Scroll vibrated in her Veil's pocket. When she pulled it up to answer the caller, the keychain attached on it clattered against the metal casing. Her eyes were drawn to the keychain, but one more rattle from her Scroll brought her eyes away from the trinket. When she saw that it was from Rin, she answered. "Hello, Rin?"

_"Hey Mia. Sorry, did I wake you by accident?"_

She might have sighed a little louder than she intended when she answered Rin. "No, I'm just exhausted." She missed her brother. "Are you coming over to the infirmary?"

_"Not immediately. I don't know how it happened, but it seems that I've been coerced into going to the cafeteria by two transfer students."_

So Rin was finally going out with students? That actually sounded great for the Armourer, which Mia voiced in a reply as such, because Rin seemed like the only person out of them that did not have company: Mia had BRNZ; Yakumo seemed to have taken to Professor Huntsmen; And Louis was spending time with the Headmaster. Rin had devoted herself to her craft since they arrived here. It would be good for her…

_'Hold on…'Coerced?'_ Mia drew a deep breath. Was she forced against her will? Did she need help? Mia could not leave the infirmary and Shiva alone, so she would have to call someone else to help. Their tallest friend came to her mind first. "Do you need me to call Yakumo for help?"

Rin had hummed, as if she was considering. _"I should be fine."_ She finally replied. _"We're just going to the cafeteria for lunch. And they aren't really stopping me from leaving either."_

That was…fine, Mia supposed? Thinking about it now, if Rin really had felt threatened, she could have easily overpowered the students and just leave. And lastly was the tone of her words, which sounded excited to Mia's hearing? "I understand." She suddenly recalled the memories of her first meeting with Rin, when she had made the first move to befriend the wary Sniper by jumping right into her face. "I know you _really_ like to make new friends."

_"Sorry about that day. I was just really excited when I finally met someone of my age and wanted to make friends with you."_

"I'm glad you did. I really do." Mia was honestly grateful for Rin's enthusiasm when she thought about it. She had just lost Nicola then, killed and Ashed in her arms by an attack from Jack. She did not fully recall her emotions that day, but she knew she was harbouring hatred and anger. And she was interested in Rin's variety of weapons, because she could have used them in her vengeance.

So, yes. She appreciated Rin's effort to befriend her, regardless of her reason. Everything turned out fine in the end, when they learned that the Nicola that died was just a clone that her Successor brother had created.

The sound of a door opening from outside of the waiting room distracted Mia. She inhaled, letting her old thoughts fade away. "So, you will be coming here after your food?"

_"Yup! Is BRNZ going to pick you up?"_

The group that entered the infirmary had not been the aforementioned Team, instead it was a Boys-only Team donned in Beacon Academy's uniform. "I'm not certain, but," the one in the lead with orange hair and the smallest one with mohawk style turned to see her. The former faced forward again while the latter nodded at her before following suit. Mia sighed, "I'll be taking a raincheck with them for today."

Mia could hear Ma'am Peach addressing them. The last boy behind the team, who looked under the weather, had disappeared around the bend before Rin spoke again. _"Do you want me to get anything for you from the cafeteria?"_

Come to think of it, Mia had never gone to the cafeteria before. Anytime Team BRNZ came to see the Revenants and picked Mia to accompany them, May had insisted and took them to the city for food instead. Perhaps she could try the Academy's brew of tea? The taste would be different as a take out, but she would rather that than leaving their friend alone. "A cup of tea. I have yet to sample the Academy's brew."

_"Okay. I'll see you later!"_

"Have fun and enjoy your lunch."

Taking the device away from her ear, Mia eyed the screen as the elapsing call time changed to 'Call Ended'. She placed the Scroll face down on the table, rattling the keychain attached to one of the corners and pulling the knight figurine to a stand. Subconsciously, her fingers stretched towards it—

_—and hooked her index finger under the keychain to pull it out of the holder. Mia brought the little figurine to her palm and took a closer look at it._

_The figurine was made out of plastic and paint. Its head was fully enclosed by the helmet, with the face plating extended slightly outwards and lined with black dots to signify openings for the sight. It wore a brown cloth cloak around the neck, with one side pinned by the singularly larger shoulder pad. Above what would have been the breastplate was a tabard, painted with an unfamiliar—likely just a design choice—insignia. Its hands and legs were fully covered in silver-painted plates, with a little detachable sword in one hand and a foldable kite shield with a much more detailed picture drawn on the surface on the other hand._

_It was a miniature figurine of a full suit of armour. The design of the figurine had nothing in common with Nicola's ephemeral knight form, but it reminded her of her little brother and his dream of being a Knight. Of their little play-fighting with sticks in hand as swords._

__'Nicola would love this…'_ She flipped the toy around to look at the price tag on a little slip of paper. _'Fifteen Lien? Is that expensive?'_ She only had so much allowance from Louis, which was given by the Headmaster for settling themselves into Beacon. She took a quick peek at the prices of the other keychains, none else that had attracted her attention. _'They're between twelve to twenty Lien. Maybe it's fine?'__

_"Mia!" Said girl turned to the call. The one who took her to the clothing store, May, had put on a different tee-shirt and jacket, which was unzipped at the front. With her originals held over an arm to her body, she did a little turn in front of Mia and struck a pose with her free hand. "How do I look?"_

_"It looks good on you." Mia returned kindly as she placed the keychain back to its holder. The jacket May currently wore was a fashion choice, with only a pair of pockets in the front. Unlike May's original jacket, which had utility pockets lined inside because of her chosen career. Mia hummed as she thought about it. "Wouldn't the colour be a bad choice for use in the desert?"_

_"It'll be fine. I wasn't planning to wear them for spars and combat. They're casual." May looked down to her track pants. "I still need to get new pants to fit this." She pointed at Mia. "We still have to get you some more clothing as well!"_

_"These two will suffice for me." Mia had already picked them out earlier._

_May shook her head while making a negative sound. "Uh-uh, we're going to get more clothing. I think a light-coloured dress and coat will suit you."_

_Mia did have a white coloured Blood Veil and hat back at Homebase. But besides that, she only wore the coat for the precise reason of it being a Blood Veil. Mia shook her head. "I don't have enough money to afford them."_

_"Drat." May snapped her fingers. Her head turned as she scanned the store and, seeing what she was looking for, pointed at one of the aisles. "How about these? How much of this do you think the three of you you need?" _

_What May had pointed at were the hygiene products. It was something that Mia had not considered, for a reason. Memories of using said products suddenly came back into her mind. She had forgotten that such a thing existed, because she never needed to use it since…_that_. "We're okay on that front."_

_May picked one of the packages. "Oh, you girls already have them?"_

_"No, we just…don't need it." It felt weird saying that._

_May's head spinned around to Mia instantly with a look of mortification written on her face.. "What do you mean you don't need?" She had another package in the other hand, raising both up between them. "Don't you like…bleed? Periods?"_

_"We don't anymore."_

_"Wah!" May dropped the packages and grabbed her by the biceps, pleading at her with sorrowful eyes. "Do you know how much Lien I could save if I don't need to constantly buy and use this? All the pain and misery I don't have to suffer? Turn me into a Revenant too! End my suffering!"_

_For a moment, anger flashed across her mind and body. How could she make light of their lives like this? And to want to _die_ and _become_ a walking corpse for a inconsequential reason like this? It felt like she was insulting the whole group of them that way._

_Her anger must have been shown on her face as May let her go and stepped back. "S-sorry," she quickly apologised, "I didn't mean anything by it, honest! I wasn't thinking and I'm just…uh, caught in the moment."_

_Mia took a deep breath and sighed, her anger abating. She gave May what she hoped to be a reassuring smile. "It's okay. I know it's surprising. So think of it this way: We can't physically have children anymore, so it's quite a terrible thing to not have it."_

_May's facial scrouged up. Then she sighed. Mia guessed that she could not decide which issue was worse between the two thoughts and pat her shoulder. "Let's get these paid and then have a tea break?"_

_"Okay." May picked up her dropped selection. "You sure you've got everything? Just the two dresses?"_

_Mia realised she did miss something when she took one last look around and spotted them: Undergarments. "Actually, I do need those." May followed her sight to what Mia had seen. "Why don't you pay for yours first while I grab them?"_

_"Sure."_

_Once Mia had paid for her items and left the clothing store, May brought her to a cafe she said that served a mean tea. Seated on the second floor balcony that overlooked the road, both girls waited for their orders in silence. Mia watched the busy street and could not help but compared it to the streets of Gaol. _'—They would be crawling with Losts. Cracked streets; Dead vegetations; Wrecked vehicles…I hardly even remember how the Ruined City used to be like, or even its name…'_ She inhaled and closed her eyes, forcing the dreary thoughts away before casting her gaze at the shops instead. _'Nicola would like to check them out…'_ She sighed._

_"Hey, Mia?" She turned to the fellow Sniper calling her, then caught the sight of May sliding a little rectangle box across the table between teacups towards her. When did the server come and deliver their drinks? "It's for you. I saw that you were thinking about getting this, but then you put it back."_

_Mia blinked with a confusion, but took the present from May. When she opened it, a little familiar figurine was set in it under foams. Mia sucked in a breath._

_"I was being rude earlier, so I wanted to apologise." May explained. "Sorry."_

_"You…you didn't have to." Mia was choked with gratitude and embarrassment. She lifted the Knight keychain from the box and held it between her palms. "Thank you…"_

_May smiled and sipped her tea. "You know, I won't ever peg you as someone that likes knights and sorcerers."_

_"I'm not." May tilted her head. "My little brother is the one who likes it. He…dressed up like one before too." Mia's hands clenched the figurine as the image of Nicola's Successor form flashed across her thought._

_"Oh! You have a younger sibling!" May leaned forward, curious and excited about it. "He likes to cosplay? What is his name? How old is he?"_

_"Y—yeah, he does." It was as good of a cover as any. Mia smiled as she thought of him. "His name is Nicola and he's eight."_

_"Ooooohh. I'm the only child in my family, so I always wonder how having a sibling is like. Tell me more about him?"_

_"Sure! Well, he likes the medieval stuff. He's got the interest since…"_

_As Mia happily talked about her brother and May asked about him, the conversation would inevitably lead into life in Gaol. Simple questions that Mia easily answered and curious answers that May would later talk to her Team about. It was not with any malicious thoughts attempts, mere genuine curiosities and interests. But things would change, and the Revenants and the Team would unknowingly drift apart. And it all started with a question—_

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

Mia blinked at the sudden question coming from her right, tearing herself away from her daydreaming, and turned her eyes away from the figurine. The smiling questioner was no one familiar to her, standing and leaning closer to her than he had sounded. It was the little spikes of hair-do in the centre of a head of stubby hair that reminded her of the team of boys that entered the infirmary a moment ago. Mia took a breath as she sat up straight. "It is not. Please have a seat."

"Cool." The mohawked boy grinned and dragged the collapsible plastic chair out. The chair made more creaking noises when Mohawk sat down than when the rubber stopper was pulled along the smooth tiles of the floor. "I haven't seen you before in Beacon. You a transfer student?" 

Mia shook her head. "No, I'm not a student at all."

"Oh." Mohawk sat facing Mia, leaning forward on his straightened arms that held the seat between his legs. "Waiting for an appointment with Professor Peach, then?"

"No, I'm just waiting. For my friend."

Mohawk dragged his 'oh' ramble again as he nodded and pushed back to the backrest. "So your friend's recovering in the ward?" He twisted around to look towards the door. "Prof Peach was just chilling at the counter and see to Sky's appointment immediately.

"Yeah, she is." 

Mohawk rolled his head to glance at her. "Uh, Prof Peach or your sis?"

"My friend."

He turned the chair around so he could use the backrest as a support for his crossed arms and head. "Oh, what happened to her?"

"Just a minor…accident." 

"Oh, I hope that she will recover soon."

Mia nodded in thanks and dropped the conversation. While she had nothing against the boy, Mia hoped that Mohawk would stop. She was not particularly in the mood for small talks. 

Thankfully for her, the ward door opened and the orange-haired teen stepped out. Orange was smirking as he strutted towards them. 

Or perhaps, towards his Mohawk teammate.

Orange threw a thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the ward. "Oie Russ, apparently there's a Big ol'Cat in there crashing with good ol'Jauney."

Mia raised her eyebrows, not saying anything yet.

Mohawk—Russ clicked his tongue. "She should stop wasting resources on animals."

"That's what I said!" Orange crossed his arm as he replied, then jerked an elbow to the ward again. "But then she just kicked me out for saying the truth. Bloody hell."

"Mhmm, yeah. Should've just left them to rot, right?" Russ turned towards Mia, flashing a sickening smirk on his lips.

Mia was not amused. "I'd appreciate it if you and your friend would stop insulting my friend."

Russ gradually lost his smirk as Orange turned his attention to her. "Oh?" 

Mia kept her scroll away. "Yes. What's wrong with that?"

Orange narrowed his eyes. "Just thinking how dumb you are, considering the faunus as 'friends'."

Mia simply crossed her arms. "Not as bad as your fragile ego is, considering you would only speak behind someone else's back."

Orange snorted.

The ward door opened again before Orange could say anything further, and the brown haired boy with squint eyes exited. "Hey Cardin," he called out to his team. Orange remained fixated on Mia, "Sky needs a bit more time here. Let's head to the cafeteria first?"

"Yeah, sure Dove, got to at least show faces there." Cardin replied, so Mia now knew his name. Russ pushed off from his seat hotly, almost toppling the chair over, and marched his way to the squinty eyed boy named Dove. Russ started to talk in both hashed and harshed tone to Dove, while Cardin was addressing Mia. "Word of advice for my fellow Human Being: Leave your so-called friend. The faunus are beyond trouble."

Mia said nothing in return, simply glaring at the boy until he turned around and left with his team. _'What a jerk.'_ And there was still one more of them in the ward, the sickly-looking boy that she presumed Ma'am Peach was attending to. And neither of them had left the room yet. Worried about what the last person of the team led by a racist or two would do, Mia got up and approached the door.

Just as Ma'am Peach opened the door. Her eyes darted around, frowning when she failed to find something, then stepped away from the door as Mia was reaching. "Miss Karnstein, where is the boy's Team's?"

"They had already left for lunch, ma'am."

Ma'am Peach snorted with indignation. "Teams nowadays." She grumbled. "No patience at all to wait for their friend. And that Winchester boy is lacking in attitude." She mumbled under her breath sentences that were too soft to be heard by Mia. Ma'am Peach strolled irately towards another door. Seeing that she had left abruptly, Mia reached for the ward's door. She was expecting the boy to be at Shiva's bedside doing something, now that no one else was in the room. 

The blue-haired boy was indeed at a bedside, but not her friend's. Instead, the sickly boy was by Jaune Arc's bedside, head bowed and eyes closed. He had a hand on the comatosed boy's knee, palm resting on the blanket covering him. Mia could just barely hear him speaking, unaware of her presence yet. "—my fault. I'm sorry, just hold on a bit longer brother. He'll fix this, make you bet—" The sound of the door closing automatically behind Mia surprised Blue and stopped his monologue. "Oh! Um…"

Hearing one person from that team sounding remorseful and apologetic was the furthest thing away from what Mia expected. She gave the boy a solemn nod. "Your team had left for the cafeteria." She informed him. "Ma'am Peach was angry about them leaving you here alone on your behalf."

"I see. Thank you." Blue sighed and stood up. Stepping into the alcove between beds to let him pass, Mia watched as he started to leave, until he reached Shiva and stopped. Mia raised her guard. "What happened to your friend?" He gestured to Shiva. 

"An accident." Mia made the same answer.

"Right. I hope she'll recover soon." Blue said.

"Thank you." Blue smiled at her gratitude, gazed at Shiva for a few seconds of silence, then he left.

Mia dropped herself into the bedside seat and sighed, fingers rubbing between the eyes. _'Not everyone is similar.'_ She made the mistake of lumping each individual into the same category with prejudice, just because they were the same team.

Turning to Shiva, Mia wondered if she had faced discrimination in her life. Just what did the Faunus do that garnered so much hate? And now that she thought about it, did she know any Faunus in her life before?

Mia was not sure if she wanted to remember.

—————

#### Police Headquarters, City of Vale

#### 1:40pm, two hours later

"Thank you for coming so quickly, Headmaster." He held his hand out. "My men are stumped with this issue for a couple of days now." 

Ozpin took it in a quick handshake. "Then let us tarry no longer, Chief. Team Amaranth—" He waved towards the Fourth year team he had picked, "will assist in your investigation."

"Infestation?!"

The sound of metal meeting flesh, then flesh meeting concrete was heard behind Ozpin. He suppressed the urge to laugh at the Chief's questioning expression as he listened to one member of AMRT get scolded by his no-nonsense teammate. "Damn it, Chocolove, be serious!"

"I _am_ serious, Tangie!"

Chief's expression settled into a frown. "Are you sure about them? I honestly was hoping for a fully fledged team to lead the investigation."

"As a team, they are indeed the most promising." There were not a lot of teams that came together as one in their first day and trained for a specialised role. Ozpin was proud of Team AMRT. "They'll be able to point to your men in the right direction. Please lead the way."

The Chief rumbled his throat, then turned around with a, "This way, people," and went ahead. Ozpin stayed his steps to let the senior team lead and watched as Chocolove McDonell held a broken cockroach mask dejectedly in his hands, which disappeared in the next turn. Ozpin still wondered where he kept or took his items from that were somehow appropriate for his jokes.

The Chief led them to the evidence room where two officers were standing guard. Forms were signed before they were allowed access, and the entourage entered the large, tidy room of lockers, cabinets, filings and displays. Ozpin remained near to the entrance, content to watch his graduating student team lead the investigation. 

Chocolove lingered behind his team and rubbed at his nose as the Chief went to one of the many nondescript metal lockers. "This is it."

"What's that weird stench?" Ozpin himself smelled nothing, but as a Jaguar Faunus with a semblance that had a passive improvement to his senses, Chocolove was probably the person of the two Faunus to notice something. "Did the ventilation fail or something?"

"It was checked yesterday because of this case. It's working fine." The Chief unlocked the locker and took out the Blood Bead that Mr. Amamiya had described to Ozpin in one of their previous interviews. Andresite, Rozelinda and Tangelina took a closer look together while Chocolove flinched back. "It's probably from these."

"Woah, this thing looks pretty," Rozelinda commented. "What is it?"

"I don't smell anything." Andresite, a Canine-type Faunus, looked to his two other Human teammates. Both shook their heads. He stared at Chocolove. "Did you break your nose again?"

"No." He cupped his nose with a hand and finger-gun pointed with the other at the Blood Bead. "That thing smells really bad. What is that thing?"

"Classified." It was a stern answer that left no room for questioning by the team. "But if you can actually sniff something off it, it'll help us immensely." The Chief placed it back into the foam holders that held several other Beads. One holder was suspiciously empty. "One of them, as you can see, is missing from its container. A different version of them, yellow in colour with a quarter volume of its content taken for study."

Team AMRT glanced between each other, then to their leader. "Can you tell us the details of what happened?" Andresite asked. 

"Documentations were in order. I had personally seen to the storage of the contrabands eight hours before they were slated to be destroyed. Seven hours later, as I prepared to transport them, I discovered that the specified contraband is missing." At this point, the rest of his team began scrutinising the room: Chocolove tilting his head up towards the ceiling; Rozelinda checking the exterior of the locker; Tangelina studying the evidence room, until her eyes lingered near the terminals. 

“Is there anything that you can tell us about your search for the missing item?” Andresite asked.

The Chief shook his head. “Not much. Nobody has entered the room after I’ve checked the items in and left, and before I came in the next day. Camera hasn’t shown anything out of the ordinary between those times, both in and out of the HQ—”

“Mind if we check the footage?” Tangelina pointed at the terminals. The Chief nodded and went to unlock it. "Doge." She called out.

Andresite 'Doge' Klove sat down beside Tangelina. "I'll check the internal cameras. Chief, can you tell us more?"

The Chief assisted the two students to access the software while he continued talking. “To be sure that it wasn’t foul play, these two days as my men tried to find out how it happened, I was triple-checking every officers’ activities in the last two weeks.” At this point, he sighed. “It is disappointing to admit, but a few of my 'upstanding' men had problems. Though none of those had any relations with this case.”

"I'm smelling a fading scent from this vent, slightly different than the ones inside the locker." Everyone but Tangelina turned to Chocolove, whose head was still upturned to the ventilation he was talking about. He pointed for further emphasis. "Is it possible for someone to crawl through the vents?"

"Not at all for an adult." The Chief answered. "The opening barely fits someone's head, much less the whole body. I'm sure you can judge it just by looking at it."

Chocolove turned to the Chief and pointed with both thumbs to himself. "I'm blind, sir. Why do you think I'm still—” He reached his hands up to his shades and shifted it in emphasis. “—wearing this cool pair of sunglasses indoors?"

The Chief patted the back of his head. "Sorry about that, I didn't know." Chocolove nodded and gave him a thumbs up with a smirk.

The Jaguar Faunus pointed at the vent again. "Can the item fit between the grating?"

Rozelinda answered him. "Nope, too big."

"The ducts run through several places and upwards between the third and fourth floor, which is linked to an opening that's flat against the surface of the wall in a rectangular slit. It's a maze of interlinked tubes where none ran directly into this room." The Chief elaborated further. 

Andresite waved a hand. "Are there any criminals with known semblances that change body size or shape."

"None." The Chief looked to Ozpin. "Headmaster?"

He frowned in thoughts. At the current moment, there were two shapeshifters on the planet, both that he had helped create: Qrow and Raven. But both of them could only transform into avians of their namesake, of which neither were small enough to fit through the grating. And neither of them were in or close to Vale at all. Thus, with confidence, he replied to the Chief. "There aren't any Huntsmen with shapeshifting Semblance, Chief, Mr. Klove."

_'Though, Salem could easily grant shapeshifting power to any of her pawns as well. Considering the strange nature of the Revenants, it could very well be her…'_

"Let me try running a trace." Chocolove threw a thumb to the door. "Sniff out where the mystery object had run off to."

"Jasper!" One of the police officers standing guard by the door peeked his head through at the Chief's call.. "Assist the Huntsman in checking the vents.” He turned back to Chocolove. “He will let you have access to areas that the ducts run through. I hope you’ll be able to get a trail for us to follow with your nose.”

“Definitely!” Chocolove gave the Chief a giant thumbs up, his prop pulled from out of nowhere. The Chief and Officer Jasper blinked. Ozpin just smiled.

After Chocolove and Officer Jasper had left, Rozelinda stepped back from the locker. “Quick question: Is it the same lockers we use in Beacon?”

“That is correct.” Ozpin answered. “The lockers here are the original versions from Atlas, with state of the art security installed. Beacon’s version had part of the security system replaced for the rocketry system and its interior reinforced for the abuse.”

"'State of the art,' eh? Sounds like it hasn't improved or checked in years." Rozelinda nodded at Ozpin, then turned to the Chief. “The airtight seal is no longer airtight; The inside is flaking and damaged. But I don't really see how it's possible to lose anything through those tiny holes."

"I see." The Chief moved next to Rozelinda and looked. "We missed that, it seems. We checked the surface only and never did try to peel back the rubber to see the lining."

Rozelinda darted her eyes around. "I'll look around the room."

"No one entered. No one even spared a glance at the door. Nothing out of the ordinary happened." Andresite commented. He was fast-forwarding four recordings, one from the camera in the upper corner of the room that overlooked the entirety of said room, and three different hallways, one of which had the door in view. He rewinded the recording.

"Did it rain two days ago?" Tangelina asked. She got an affirmative from her teammates. "The heat vents are a lot steamier that day because of the rain. There's five people that passed by the alleyway camera in the seven elapsed hours. They're just walking through. Hhmm…"

"What is it?" Andresite looked away from his terminal to Tangelina's. "What do your Semblance eyes see?"

She rubbed her eyes. "Sweet fuck all. Three kids just passing by, a girl and then a man. The last guy did stop for a moment, looked up, then walked away, but he did nothing." She started to rewind the recording.

"You've reached the point where we're stuck at." The Chief said. "Two days of scrutinising every recording and checking the sites where it might be possible for a break-in, but we got nothing."

Ozpin stepped up behind Tangelina as she fast-forwarded the alleyway video. The camera was mounted on the Headquarter’s wall within the alleyway and facing the exit that led to the road. It was night time and the heavy rain was causing the heat vent to steam heavily, obscuring part of the alleyway: One at the exit and one in the middle.

First to appear on screen, an hour after the time the Chief had said he had exited the evidence room, were a group of three teenagers clad in raincoats. They appeared from below the camera and were brisk-walking away from it, heading towards the street. They parted once to dodge the heat vent, but did nothing else that warranted attention.

After another two hours, parting the heavy cloud of steam at the exit, a woman wearing a dark-coloured cloak materialised. She had her hood lifted over her head to shelter herself from the rain, which had the effect of shading her face under its shadow. Her white clothing almost blended with her pale white skin, but it was there to barely cover her well endowed body. She simply travelled through the alleyway, heading towards her destination without pause.

Another hour and a half passed before the last person appeared on screen, coming from under the camera and headed towards the exit. Just as he reached the heat vent, he paused and looked up, a hand sheltering his eyes from the rain, just as Tangelina had said. The bald man was dressed in a white coat, similar to a doctor or a scientist based on his back, and ignoring the fact that his coat was getting drenched by the rain by not carrying an umbrella. Whatever he was scrutinising was on the wall of the Police Headquarters. After he stood there checking the wall, he turned back towards the exit into the street and left the scene.

“Do you have any idea who that was, Chief?” Andresite was the one to bring up the question.

“I've checked.” The Chief replied. “His name is Doctor Merlot.”

“Merlot?” Ozpin was shocked by the identity. The man had looked nothing like Ozpin remembered. “Of the Merlot Industries?”

The Chief nodded. “According to the records, yes. The AI and Genetic research industry from Mountain Glenn. He apparently survived that disaster and recently appeared in Vale roughly three years ago, where he found a job in medical-science as an assistant, later becoming a doctor with his own lab."

“He looks so much different than the last time I’ve seen him. Did you ask him how he survived Mountain Glenn?” Ozpin asked.

"It isn’t part of our investigation, Headmaster. It wasn't asked by my men." Ozpin frowned. The Chief followed-up. "If you like, I can try and open an investigation on him, but without a probable cause, it might not happen or it might stall."

Ozpin stepped back to let Team AMRT and the Chief continue on, distressed by the news of the Doctor’s apparent survival. It was disconcerting that the man that directly caused the Fall of Mountain Glenn was still alive and had come to Vale. Merlot, who used to be the leading expert over Atlas’s Doctor Polendina, became obsessed with the Creatures of Grimm and started to experiment on them. Not too long later, out of subjects and out of patience, he attempted to lure additional Grimm to his main facility in Mountain Glenn. His bait worked far too well and the result was disastrous, leading to the fall of Mountain Glenn. If the possibility of causing even more unsettling emotion among the public had not been prevalent, due mostly in part to how trusted the Merlot Industries were by the public, he would have disclosed the full story to the Council. 

In the end, the remainder of Merlot Industries had to shut themselves down. With the main facility destroyed and its founder missing and presumed dead, the industry could not recover from the blow. With things ended this way, he did not have any need to follow up on Doctor Merlot.

“He looks different, right Headmaster?” Rozelinda posted the question. He saw the girl had climbed up to the camera in the room, checking the hardware with her eyes. “Are you sure he’s the same person?"

It was a valid question. The Merlot he knew had a head full of hair, a beard and mustache. This person captured on the screen was both bald and clean-shaven, as well as having a larger physique than the last time Ozpin saw Merlot. Perhaps someone had stolen the Merlot's identity?

But the Chief’s answer nipped the thought. "His data checks out. He had his profile updated in the West Branch one week before he landed his medical occupation here. His blood tests and fingerprints had passed without issue.”

“I will talk to him.” Ozpin decided. “For now, you should continue with the current investigation. Chief, please let me know where I can find Doctor Merlot.” 

The Chief nodded. “I’ll retrieve the information and send it to your Scroll later.”

With that said, Ozpin stepped back to the door once again. Now he had another problem he needed to look into, perhaps he could get Bartholomew or even recall Qrow to question Merlot. The faculty knew of what Merlot had done, as most of them had been the responders to the disaster and learned of it themselves in the midst of evacuation.

While Ozpin's mind stewed in thought about the Doctor, he listened with half a mind to the things the Chief and the Team were discussing. "So what was Doctor Merlot doing when he faced upwards?" Tangelina asked.

"He said he smelled some wonderful scent." Chief frowned. "He did not elaborate it beyond 'someone's cooking something nice,' and that it 'reminded him of his old home.'"

"Was there?" Andresite asked.

"No one was making or eating supper at the pantry at the time. We don't even have a canteen in here." The Chief further elaborated.

Music rang suddenly in the room, surprising everyone, and they turned to the source. Andresite blinked and pulled out his Scroll. “Chocolove?" He paused, then placed the scroll on the table and activated Speaker Mode. "You're on."

_I've traced the scent as far as I could. It ended up outside the HQ before the smell's gone, washed away by the rain. Officer Jasper said that we're at the back alley of the HQ, can anyone see where we're at on camera?"_ Chocolove reported.

"Chief?" 

The Chief responded to Tangelina's request and changed the settings from footage to live. It was the same scene with few changes, prominently it was day time, as it was in the afternoon currently. And the heat vent had visible steam rising up only to the ankle. Chocolove and Jasper were standing near the street exit, with the former's head tilting up towards the wall, scroll in hand pressing to his ear.

If Ozpin could tell that Chocolove was facing in the same direction that Merlot had been, both the Chief and Team AMRT could see it as well.

"We're seeing you." Andresite said. "What's up there?"

_"Officer? Can you describe what I'm supposed to be seeing?"_

A different voice came through with an exasperated tone. _"It's a four-storey high wall with two windows on the third and fourth storey each. The vent leads out to here, below the third floor window. That's all."_

Rozelinda climbed off her perch and sat on the table. "Is it possible that Doctor Merlot smelled the same thing Chocolove was tracing?"

_"Huh? Who?"_

"A guy named Doctor Merlot stopped right where you are and smelled something from the vent." Andresite updated Chocolove. "The Chief confirmed that no one at the time was cooking or having supper."

_"Uh, is the Doc a Bear or an Elephant Faunus? Or a Snake? They have an even stronger sense of smell than me."_

"No, he's Human." The Chief replied.

_"Oh, maybe it was the neighbours?"_

"He definitely was looking at the vent." Tangelina spoke up. "Or at least in the general direction. I can't see the vent from the camera's angle."

The scroll in Ozpin's pocket suddenly vibrated from an incoming call. As the Chief and Team AMRT continued to discuss the action made by Merlot, Ozpin stepped out of the door and beside the other officer that was seated at the desk facing the evidence room's door. He nodded to the Officer, stepped further away for the illusion of privacy as he pulled out his scroll.

It was Glynda. Ozpin answered the call immediately. "Glynda?"

_"Ozpin."_ There was a tinge of frustration in her voice. _"There's been an incident, between Team CRDL and one from Haven, Team SSSN."_

Ah, Team CRDL. The freshmen team with a penchant for trouble. They were a case that was growing problematic as the semester passed.. Ozpin had half a mind to relieve them of their statuses as trainees after their last accident in the Emerald Forest—the one that resulted in Team JNPR’s Team Leader, Jaune Arc to be comatosed—yet it was not fully their fault for the accident. Ozpin knew about the boy’s fake transcript, yet he still let the undertrained, runaway boy into his academy. There was no way Team CRDL would have known that when they were attacked by a group of Ursa. That accident had also inflicted some kind of damage to Team CRDL’s Sky Lark’s psyche, a trauma of some form that he had been seeing Professor Peach for treatment and counselling. "What happened?"

_"The incident occurred in the cafeteria during lunch. According to Mr.Shinonome, Team CRDL's members stood up to defend the team leader from a physical assault initiated by Mr.Wukong of Team SSSN. Mr.Thrush was assaulted in the process, to which he retaliated in defense of himself."_ Ozpin frowned. If he recalled correctly, from the student dossiers, Sun Wukong was the Team Leader of SSSN. _"Mr.Shinonome had been there to stop the conflict from escalating between Teams CRDL and RWBY—the latter being in the vicinity when it occurred and intervened—as well as Mr.Wukong's partner, Mr.Vasilias and one of the other 'guests', Ms.Murasame."_

"What was Mr.Shinonome's response regarding this?"

_"He sent Team SSSN to the infirmary with Ms.Murasame. As for Teams CRDL and RWBY, he was escorting them to me as I was heading towards the scene, thus I had met eight of them in the hallway. Ms.Belladonna was missing, but Mr.Lark had seen her following Team SSSN towards the infirmary."_ Glynda answered Ozpin’s question in mind before he asked. _”I have had both teams confined to their dorms for now, pending for an appropriate punishment: I was planning to discuss this with you as it involves the Team from Haven, as well as interviewing each Team for their side of the story prior to that.”_

“Very well, I shall return post haste.” Ozpin ended the call and returned to the evidence room. The Chief was standing, arms crossed and head turned to Ozpin, behind Tangelina and Andresite as they rewatched their respective recordings again. Rozelinda had leaned over Andresite’s shoulder to see his screen. “Chief? Something has come up at the Academy, I will have to return now.”

“Yo, Headmaster.” Tangelina waved a hand back without taking her eyes—and semblance—away from the screen, right at the moment Ozpin ended his sentence and before the Chief could reply. “Requesting permission to stay here and assist the Chief with this? ”

“Granted,” Ozpin answered, “so long as your Team Leader and the Chief allows it.” Andresite simply nodded, likely because they had discussed it while he had stepped away for Glynda’s call.

The Chief nodded as well. “I would like to ask for their continual assistance. Will it affect anything with regards to their academics?”

Ozpin gave it a thought. “If you can write and send me an internship request, I can have them signed on as part of their studies.” He hummed, a thought seeping into his mind. “If possible, I would like to have a report of the investigation as well.”

“I’ll have the internship written up and sent to you within twenty-four hours.” The Chief said. “As for the report, I can only send you a summary after the conclusion.”

“That will be fine.” Ozpin turned his sights to Andresite. “I will be counting on your Team’s effort to get to the bottom of this, AMRT.”

Andresite sat up straighter and nodded. “Sir!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The figurine keychain is Oscar, Knight of Astora from the first Dark Souls.
> 
> Hindsight after writing, I think maybe using 'Merlot?' was an error. It was that or I would have to completely come up with a suiting background.  
-  
The first part of the chapter wasn’t originally what I wanted to write. As I thought about what I wrote on Vale 02 and worked on (now) Vale 04, there was a thought for me to develop CRDL as well, rather than just making them evil without context. I mean, like, I already have plans for their furthest actions, but I never originally planned to write every bit of their actions out. Then I thought about it further and reckoned that it might seem completely ‘out-of-the-left-field’ if I suddenly threw a bunch of things out from out of nowhere. Like a retcon.


End file.
